


Who You Truly Are

by Akiri Kurusu (Sitka_Serket)



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: 3/4s of it is really wholesome, Akechi being manipulative, Akechi showing his true colors, Akira is confused with his emotions, Akira suffers, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anger, Arsene/Akira fusion, Character Study, Corruption, Dark Kurusu Akira, Dealing With Loss, Fluff and Pain, Frustration, Futaba's palace, Gay Kurusu Akira, Guilt, Happiness within tragedy, Hurt/Comfort, Loss of Identity, M/M, Manipulation, Metaverse (Persona 5), Mind Manipulation, Morgana doesn't try to go off on his own, One-sided love triangle, Persona 5 Protagonist Has A Palace, aftermath of curse, akira and ryuji being fluffy butts, akira being extra, don't let the tags fool you, minor dealing with depression, ryuji just trying to be a good boyfriend, ryuji just wants to support his boyfriend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-11-06 22:28:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 32,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17948315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sitka_Serket/pseuds/Akiri%20Kurusu
Summary: He’s broken. He’s truly broken... How can one go back to how things we before when that possibility was taken away from them?Akira Kurusu’s life was changed by a simple curse, one that brought out his anger and turned him into the one thing he never wanted to become: a monster to his friends and everyone around him. How can he truly know himself when he doesn’t know who he truly is anymore?





	1. 7/6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone was wondering why my long fic: A Phantom Thief To Steal Everyone’s Heart, was put on hiatus, it was because of this. I've been keeping it a secret for months now, but I can finally say it's done. I will be going back to APTTSEH soon. So, be expecting a new chapter to come eventually and thank you for reading!.

> # Thanatophobia: fear of death, loss, or losing someone you love
> 
> # 
> 
>   
> 

Akira Kurusu never admitted it, but he had a fear that ached inside him when he started dating Ryuji Sakamoto. Every battle, that fear would never go away, no matter how many enemies they encountered. That fear was what led him to that moment. The moment that changed everything.

**After School**

“So, got any intel from Mishima?” Ann Takamaki asked as she met up at their usual hangout. She sat down her bag and looked out at the clear blue skies of Tokyo.

“Mishima is saying that lots of people are talking about someone named Kuro Majutsu. They’ve been threatening students here at Shujin as well as Kosei Academy.” Makoto Niijima crossed her arms, thinking about the perpetrator.

“Doesn’t Kuro Majutsu sound like some kinda troll online?” Ryuji Sakamoto asked. “Doesn’t sound like a real person at all.”

“We thought that too, but Akira and I found his place in mementos,” Morgana informed them. “Sometimes that name you see online may be more like a name to them than anything else, so do you guys still want to do it?”

“I think we should,” Akira Kurusu looked back at them. “Even if it’s just a bully, making him realize what he’s done will help them stop from being targeted again.”

“I agree with Akira. We’ve got to step in before more people get hurt.” Everyone else nodded in unison. They all huddled together, looking around before setting the coordinates to mementos.

\---

Mementos was quiet for the moment, only the sounds of the train station making its way around could be heard in the distance. They made their way down the elevator, hearing the sounds of their shoes echo through the place. Once they got to their destination Joker took the chance to change his group. He was going to bring in Yusuke to provide his Bufu ability. Ryuji with his zio to spark up the battle, and Makoto, to spike a nuclear reaction. Ann and Morgana stayed to watch guard. Both were able to stand their own weight in terms of fighting skill. Makoto had been teaching her some aikido moves to help her. They both waved them off as the group started heading into the mini palace.

The woman stood in her little crevice of mementos, turned against them, almost as if she was expecting them. “Phantom thieves… How welcoming…” She presumed, her voice was pretentious, and this was what she least needed right now. “We’re here to make you pay for your crimes!” Akira said, moving towards the woman.

“I’m not doing anything wrong,” she lifted her head haughtily. "Besides you have no right to change my mind." 

“What you’re doing is targeting innocent people! They didn’t do anything wrong!” Joker argued standing his ground. Man, this one seemed more stubborn than the others.

“ I’m doing a good thing by teaching those people a lesson!” She raised a hand at him. “They needed to learn a little thing called respect! And you,” She pointed a finger at them, “are not respectful at all.”

“What we do is look for distorted desires. We’re doing something different, we’re helping people.”

“Then what about those terrible accidents with the subway incident?” The lady retorted. “Was that your idea as well? ”

“No, that wasn’t us at all. That was someone else,” Joker tried to reassure her.

“What you’re doing is wrong. Changing people hearts for your own personal gratitude is not helping anyone. You shouldn’t interfere with anyone's mind. It’s their own decision whether they want to change themselves. You’re trying to be the hero, but you have no idea what that truly even is. You’re the monster.”

Akira couldn’t seem to get to her now, he did a backflip as the lady began to change her hands into something inhuman. Her hands started to elongate and turn to a pure black with only bits of purple seeping through. This enemy was different. She wasn’t turning not a shadow like the others. She seemed to be a mixture of both.

She tried to claw at Akira, striking out at him, but he seemed to dodge with perfect proficiency. Makoto rode Johanna at her and knocked her to the floor. She sent one final surprise attack towards Skull. Joker couldn't live with himself if Skull got hurt on his watch. Joker jumped in front of him, getting the brace of the attack. 

The powerful spell sent them both straight back, knocking Skull down to the floor with him. “Joker…” Skull held his hand, seeing the damage she’d done to him. He was bleeding profusely with a huge gaping slash permanently etched onto his skin. Fox looked back at Joker, and immediately came to him with a worried look on his face.

“Joker. We need to get you out of here. You need medical care.” Skull handed him a hiranya, but that didn’t help lessen the pain any. He then took off his ascot and held pressure to the wounded part of his neck.

Queen looked back at Joker, seeing he had begun to become paler than usual. She looked back and noticed the woman was using this time to escape. She rode Johanna, trying to get in the last attack before her shadow disappeared. Queen rode back to them “We lost her,” Makoto she threw her mask down in anger. 

“Dammit!” Skull cursed. Joker let out a groan. He tried to reach for his cut, but Ryuji pulled his weak hand down. “Let me take care of you, it’s the least I can do. You saved me.” Joker gripped his hand tighter as they pulled him up to his feet, leading him outside. “I’d take a hard blow for you any day,” Joker said, giving him a meager smile and winced in pain as he felt the scratch burn.

“When we get back, we’ll put some bandages on it. You don’t look too good either, Joker,” Makoto worried for him, feeling his head and seeing his flushed cheeks.

“So this shadow was different from everyone else?” Mona asked them once they started heading home.

“Yes, she was able to escape our battle and disappear from her own little mini palace in Mementos,” Queen informed them.

“That is quite the unusual shadow… I’ve never heard of a shadow being that smart before…” They all wondered just what kind of shadow they were dealing with. Skull kept holding pressure to his wound. Joker’s perfect leather shirt ruined with his own crimson stain. Ann just looked at him in his bad condition and hoped the ride home wouldn’t be long…

**Evening**

When they entered into Leblanc, Sojiro saw how bad Akira was, he scrambled into action to find some bandages big enough to cover the huge scratch marks left in Akira. “What were you guys doing?!?” Sojiro immediately asked as he grabbed a towel and soaked it with cold water.

“We were hangin’ out in the park when some guys dog came an’ attacked Akira,” Ryuji lied.

“That dog must’ve been huge, I’ve never seen scratch marks as big as these.” Sojiro started cleaning it up, with Akira biting his lip hard to stifle back a muffled cry. He rubbed some ointment to help protect it and started wrapping it up. “We’ll change those out later, we can’t let a bad cut like that get infected. So, how’re feeling Akira?”

“My neck still hurts, but other than that I feel alright. Just tired…”

“For tonight, you need to at my house. Only for tonight though, don’t get any funny ideas,” He waggled his finger at him. Usually, he never showed his soft side, but Akira wasn’t going to complain either… “Thank you guy for bringing him here so quickly.”

“It was no problem. Akira, we hope you feel better tomorrow,” they all wished him well.

“You guys have a good night and we’ll see how he is in the morning.” They all came in for a hug and then grabbed their things and headed for the door. Akira heard them all leave as the final jingle of the entrance doors quieted Sojiro began turning off the lights for the night. 

Akira tried to stand up straight but found himself gripping to the side of the table. Sojiro ran to him as he stumbled slightly. “You alright?” He asked. Akira tried to stand up but found himself feeling light headed. “You can't stay here like this,” Sojiro helped walk him to his house.

Seeing his home from the outside was all he saw when he first came to Tokyo. But being inside was different. It lived and breathed Sojiro. Showed how he watched TV in his living room, showed that he liked carpeted floors more than hardwood. Showed that after he got home he liked to experiment with new recipes. 

Akira only got to see a little bit of his house. He left his shoes at the entrance, letting Sojiro help him into the guest bedroom past the kitchen. The raven-haired boy passed pictures with him and a mysterious woman with short dark hair and a little girl with bright orange hair. He could only wonder as Sojiro kept him walking into his temporary room next to his own little master bedroom. Akira sat down his bag as he plopped onto bed lightly. 

The soft plush bed was nicer than his back at home in the attic. It was like sleeping on cloud nine. “Does everything feel good?” He asked as Akira readjusted his pillows.

“Yup, thank you for letting me stay here.”

“Your welcome. Now, I’ll come back to change the bandages in a few hours. Can’t let that get infected. This is a one-time thing only.” There was his coldness again, just like always.

“Yes, Sir.” Akira simply nodded. He turned off the light and turned on his fan, letting the quiet night speak for itself as he closed the door and told him good night. 

Morgana immediately stuck his paw through and peaked out through the bag. “Is the coast clear?” he asked. 

“Yeah,” Akira whispered. Morgana leaped from his bag and jumped onto his bed. “You’ve never had a cut this bad before.” Morgana pawed at it in the darkness.

The boy groaned, “It still hurts from earlier…”

“That bad, huh? You’d do anything for him, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course! We’re a team! I’d do that for all of you guys if I could.”

“I mean more than that, I know you guys just started dating recently, so I wasn’t sure if the love was talking or our leader was talking.”

“I’m talking as our leader, and I also expect you to not harass any of the teammates as well. As you said, we have to work together. Having the team disconnected is only going to harm us.”

“I agree, I’ll try my best to be a gentleman to everyone, including your boyfriend…” He sighed, starting to curl up next to him.

“Thank you,” Akira scratched behind his ears and stroked him back, that always made him purr like a content kitty.

“I’m hoping this terrible cut’ll start to heal up.” 

“I hope so too, knowing you, you’d miss being a part of doing phantom thief business.”

“I would.” Akira agreed. “Going into the metaverse makes me feel like I am someone in there, I’m actually able to do something about my life. Change it…” Akira fell silent.

Even in the dark room Morgana could feel that something was up. “What’s on your mind?” He asked him.

“I can’t help but remember the words she said to us in Mementos. Are we really monsters for trying to forcefully change people's hearts?”

“Not everything we do is right or wrong. Sometimes the area is murky and maybe what we are doing isn’t necessarily right, but whether they want to say it or not, we have helped people, and that’s what matters.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Thanks for reminding me of that Morgana.”

“You’re welcome Joker, now you should rest up, Sojiro will be back later to see how you’re doing, so get what little sleep while you still can.”

“Alright, I get it. Bed!” Akira joked with him. That cat would always make him go to bed at the earliest of times, but it helped. He got settled into his bed, giving himself some time to rest as he closed his eyes, finding himself falling asleep for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here are the links to the wonderful artists who drew some amazing art for my fic! Thank you guys for taking the time to read the first chapter.
> 
> https://luna-shewolf.tumblr.com/post/183206643138/hello-i-finally-finished-this-piece-for-my
> 
> http://littlechinaaru.tumblr.com/post/183155457025/pictures-for-the-persona-big-bang-event-art
> 
> Edit: 3/7/19: added in a hook to sink you guys in for the fluff and pain.


	2. 7/7

**Morning**

That morning the raven-haired boy noticed a familiar figure standing it the corner of his room. Arsene only looked at him, expressionless. He blinked, trying to make sense of it. He had never made himself seen outside of the Metaverse.

“Arsene, how are you here?” He wondered aloud, sitting up in his bed before giving out a painful groan. He felt like he had his body slammed against a wall.

“I know you are feeling unwell, dear Trickster. I’m here for guidance if you need it.” He bowed towards him, face unfazed and disappeared from the room. Akira considered it weird for him suddenly pop up like that, it made him consider if it was just his bodies way of reacting to the sleepless night. 

Akira decided to stay home that day, He found himself in no condition to be able to go the school without supporting his balance. Akira’s body felt weak, like he was having a cold, and had no energy. Sojiro gave him a freshly made bowl of curry that morning and checked out his injury again.

Despite all their efforts, Akira could plainly see that it was getting infected. It had an unhealthy rim of purple going all around it. Sojiro applied more ointment. “If it gets any worse, you going to the doctor across the street.” 

The man tried to hide the fear in his voice, but Akira knew that if he was resorting to a woman he only talked to once, then this was serious.

He’d give it an hour or two, try to let it soak in. Try to take it easy, he told himself as Sojiro left for the café. 

His phone pinged, with Ann only in the chat room:

Checkup:  
J was added to the group.

P: Hey, how’re you feeling today, Akira?  
J: this has been the worst attack I’ve ever got in mementos yet.  
P: hurts that bad, huh?  
J: yeah, nothing's healing it up.  
P: tried the medicine Tae gave you?  
J: yeah, but it didn’t even make me feel better at all. Sojiro tried putting on a different ointment too and that hasn’t worked.  
P: maybe you should go for a checkup and see if it’s something else  
J: yeah, I’ll go and see her.  
P: I’ll let everyone else know how you’re doing. I’ll see you after school to give you the notes and homework you missed.  
J: Thanks panther.  
P: no problem!

He couldn’t put it off, so he let Sojiro know he was heading to the clinic and started walking. He covered himself up in his hoodie and leaned against the walls.

Tae Takemi looked at him as he entered the room, “Hello, my little guinea pig. Skipping out on school today?” He pulled down his shirt to show her, “Head to the examination room,” she gestured him quickly. 

Tae knew his dabbles in mementos but never thought she could come into a clinic with that bad of a wound. 

“What went on in there?” She asked, looking at it closer. “I’ve never seen something as bad as that…”

“An enemy tried to hurt my a team member and I took the blow for them.”

“You tried the ointment I gave you?”

“Yes, that was the first thing I did. Your strongest medicine isn’t working at all like it usually does...”

“Oh my…” Her face went completely white. “Maybe it needs to counteract something different. I’ll need to make a new version. To do so, I’ll need to take a sample from your wound, to see what may be causing it not to heal properly even with my best medicine. This should help it become a better version capable of handling it. How sensitive is it?”

“Very sensitive,” She looked around and found a towel. “Bite on this,” she said, handing him a towel. She gave no warning as she scraped a small swab against him, but even that made him wince in pain, gritting his teeth against the towel. 

Once she was done seeing what it was, she prepared a special ointment for him to put on it every few hours. She cleaned up whatever she could and bandaged it up.

She was an interesting lady, an adversary that has become very useful, well done,Trickster. Arsene stood to the side of Takemi, eyeing her work. It was nice to hear his comforting voice. He felt better afterwards, stocking up on some stronger medicine before heading home.

**After School**

Everyone waited for him at LeBlanc. Ann gave him some of the notes and homework he missed out on for the day. “Feeling any better?” she asked.

“Yeah, Takemi-san worked her magic.”

“Good. Ryuji was worried about you the most, he kept wondering about you, hoping you were alright. He texted me non-stop and wouldn’t stop talking about you at lunch,” Ann snickered.

“I missed you too,” he came to Ryuji, giving him a hug and a sweet kiss. 

“So, you were worried about me,” Akira gave him a cheeky grin, the flirt.

“M-maybe I was.” Ryuji blushed. “What’s wrong with worryin’ ‘bout your boyfriend?”

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Akira teased him, looking at him with his beguiling eyes.

“Good to know you two lovebirds are doing good,” Makoto smiled. “I’m glad, Takemi-san was able to help you,” Makoto added. 

“I know, you guys just got together a little bit, but tell me what helped you realize you guys liked each other. I’m curious.” 

Makoto hadn’t been around to see the whole story. But since they were finished with the palace, she could fully trust them now and keep their secret.

“He didn’t think he was gay at first.” Akira came in, giving her the juicy details. 

“I didn’t! I dated girls a long time ago!”

“Oh, so I wasn’t your first? Dang…” distracted by his response, he turned back to her. “I was originally just trying to stay low, due to my probation, but it was a while after we became Phantom thieves I noticed Ryuji would say the sweetest things around me. How he felt alive when we talked with each other. It was charming, so I wait a few months. Ann told me his birthday was coming up, so I thought of bringing up the question.”

“He asked me ‘Has anyone else ever made you feel so alive?’” Ryuji explained. “I said no, then he flat out told me, I was having’ a mad hard crush on him.”

“Ryuji had to process it for a moment. Who could blame him?” Akira looked at him, smirking.

“Akira decided to help me figure it out by kissing me. He told me he loved me and wanted to be more than that. Luckily, he was the best kisser, so I told him I loved him too an’ that would be the Effin’ amazin’.”

“It’s been a few days, but I haven’t regretted it.” Akira held him close, burrowing into his neck.

“You guys do make a cute couple.” Makoto hoped the best for them. “So anyway, since you missed out on today, would you like me to help you out with the homework you missed?” She offered, changing the subject.

Akira nodded, “Yeah, that would help.”

“Bleh, welp. I’m off to the arcade…” Ryuji waved them off, heading for the door. 

“Yuji!” Akira whined, “but your grades need it even more than I do! Didn’t you say you know you failed your last exam?”

“He failed his last exam?” Makoto asked, looking at Ryuji with the death glare. 

“I-I’m bad at studyin’ I swear!” Ryuji stammered like a buffoon. He was practically waving the white flag at her. 

“You’ll be staying right here, and learning something for once!” Makoto grabbed his ear and pulled him into the booth seat next to Akira.

For the next few hours, Ryuji suffered nothing but question drills, while Akira was smug as can be, working on his homework.

**Evening**

“Why did you do this to me?” He asked once it was over.

“Because I want what’s best for you too, Yuji.” Akira looked at him with that smug grin of his, practically relieved he got to spend another moment with him.

“I can’t feel my brain right now…” He laid his head on Akira’s shoulder. The raven-haired boy leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. “I’m gonna need more than kisses to fix this migraine…”

“You want some curry? I can fix us all some,” Akira gladly offered.

“Oh, curry sounds good,” Makoto agreed. “Thank you, Akira.”

“You’re doing better, but you should’ve asked for more help, Ryuji. You want to get into a good college, don’t you?”

“Nah, I’m not really wantin’ to go to college. School sucks…”

“How are you going to pay for your house? Or better yet, your husband?” Her eyes moved towards Akira.

“Honey I’m home,” Akira smiled at Ryuji oh so innocently. “How are you going to provide for our children?”

“You want children?!?” Ryuji choked on his water. “Where was the memo ‘bout this?!” 

Yusuke and Ann watched Ryuji in amusement. Akira laughed at him, “I’m kidding.”

“You scared the shit outta me man!” Ryuji was semi-relieved. But a part of him did wonder about the possibility.

Together, they all had curry before Makoto and everyone else headed home for the evening. Ryuji decided to spend the night at LeBlanc, keeping him safe. At least it was Sunday tomorrow. He could have Akira all to himself for the night.

“You sure you feelin’ better, dude?” Ryuji asked, cautiously. “I felt so bad for you. I wish it were me that got hit that day-” Akira silenced his lips with a kiss.

“I still would’ve taken that hit even if you didn’t want me too. I don’t want you hurting either. You’ve had enough stuff to deal with.”

“I know, an’ things are better now. I have a wonderful boyfriend that my Mom loves, great friends. An’ we’re doing some cool stuff no one else has done. We’re the Phantom Thieves man, an’ nothin’ can stop us!”

“Maybe some kisses from you could help me recover…” Akira put his arms around Ryuji. He blushed silently, just savoring this moment.


	3. 7/10

**After School**

Akira seemed back to his regular self within a few days. Catching up on homework was painful though, but with Makoto’s help, he was able to understand it better and finish it up within a few days. 

To celebrate finishing the palace, they decided to head out to mementos to see if that bully was back there. They headed down to where they last saw the mysterious woman, but were surprised to find she had completely disappeared off the map. “DAMMIT!” Ryuji yelled, stomping his foot. “Where’s that asshole? He hurt Akira!”

“I-I don’t know…” Makoto answered. “I was sure this was where she was last… How could it just disappear?”

Morgana was perplexed by this as well, “I’m not sure either…” 

“If she comes back, don’t you know I’m waitin’ to give her hell.” Ryuji vowed to give her some payback.

“You guys did the best you could,” Akira tried to cheer his boyfriend up, giving him a reassuring smile, but everyone was still upset by the unforeseen circumstances. “All we can do is wait.”

They resumed their normal routine, hanging out at Leblanc or at the Station after school. Today, Akira had Leblanc to himself. His friends were all busy working. The customers were few and far in between.

Akira noticed Arsene in the corner of his eyes. It seemed like he was starting to stay more often, even noticing him while he was working at Leblanc cafe or at school. 

He focused on filtering the coffee, like Sojiro told him, and learning from the customers on which kinds of bean they liked. This guy, he seemed like a Blue mountain coffee bean kind of guy. He twirled around in suave fashion, grabbing the beans and turned around, crushing them and filtering it out. “Here’s the Blue mountain special, sir,” he gave a courteous bow. The customer wasn’t expecting that kind of grandeur at all, and tipped him extra once he left. 

Akira never felt like acting like his over-the-top spectacular self outside of the metaverse. It surprised even him how natural it felt. “What a wonderful spectacle, Trickster.” Arsene clapped for him.

“I usually never do that at all. Today, I just feel really good today.”

“Maybe that’s because your injury has managed to heal up within a couple of days, thanks to that doctor.”

“Yeah,” Akira pulled down his shirt, and saw that it left a scar, but that was to be expected. It was fine, he'd deal with the reprecussions.

**Evening**

The bells rung as Ryuji entered Leblanc. Sojiro came back in a few minutes behind him, as he headed upstairs. 

Ryuji wanted to check up on him, Akira was worried for him to see him like this. To see what occurred from the battle. But it was his boyfriend, he couldn’t keep it secret. “Been healin’ up arlight?” He asked. 

“Yeah, it’s all closed up now.” Ryuji tugged down Akira’s shirt, and all he could feel was remorse. _I ruined him_ , was all Ryuji could feel, and burst into tears, crying for him.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t avoided that hit, why’d things have to turn out like that?” 

He couldn’t see him cry like this, so he kissed him. He wanted to erase everything from his mind, give him one good day. One without tears or sadness. He didn’t need to cry about the world being so unfair. So he gave him his love, tussling his sunshine hair, and showered him with complete admiration, all through his lips. Just make him forget about this shitty world for a few minutes.

Ryuji didn’t know what to say, but found himself on cloud nine with Akira. He’d always been such a perfect kisser. All his tears seemed to go away whenever he did that. With Akira, he made him feel like he was the only one in the universe.

When Akira finally pulled his lips away he looked like he was in bliss. “You sure know how to make everythin’ feel better.” Akira smiled with his pure love for him, Ryuji could only stare for a moment only to see Akira’s eyes almost flash crimson, before he could even recall what just happened. Ryuji shook his head.

“You alright?” He asked, feeling something wasn’t right either.

“Yeah, just my imagination runnin’ wild for you,” Ryuji lied as he took the opportunity to kiss him some more.

They spent the rest of the night cuddling each other, snuggling up to a movie, all while Leblanc was silent for the night.

Ryuji still was contemplating on what he saw. Was it just his imagination? He seemed to be his same old self, but he just couldn’t be sure. He laid awake in Leblanc, his mind racing with more questions than answers.


	4. 7/11

**Early Morning**

They headed for school that morning. While looking at his uniform, he decided he was going to be a bit different that morning. He decided to wear his red and black classic shirt Ann had got him. He was tired of laying low, tired of the same old, same old outfit. Spice it up a bit.

Arsene looked at him, seeing the final product, an outfit that could only be as stylish as Akira, and bold like his boyfriends ZOMG shirt he always wore.

At the entrance of the school, Ann waited for them, along with Makoto. Ann immediately noticed the outfit. ”Look at you, Akira! You’re matching!” She loved seeing an outfit she picked out come to life before her eyes.

“Thank you,” Akira walked towards the doors, opening them and gestured his friends inside. “Thank you, Akira. What a fine gentleman,” Makoto complimented.

“It was nothing,” Akira shrugged it off.

**Lunch**

They met up at the rooftop. Akira twirled around his phone while snacking on an onigiri Ann had brought for everyone. “Dude, how do you even do that?”

“Proficiency,” Akira said simply. “Helping out a lot at Leblanc has made me more proficient.”

“Huh, maybe I should try an’ work at Leblanc. ‘Least Sojiro knows I wouldn’t mess with the merchandise.”

“Still not a fan of coffee?”

“Nah, it’s too bitter, but you are startin’ to make me change my mind.” Akira gave him a sweet kiss. You could always smell it on his clothes, the aroma radiated from him no matter what he wore. He tasted like it too.

“You forgot about the curry.”

“Oh yeah, but I’ll leave that to you. You’re learnin’ from the master, ‘cause your curry is effin’ delicious.”

“Become my coffee king, then,” Akira gave him a small kiss on the cheek.

**Evening**

When they returned home, Akira was about to head upstairs, but Sojiro noticed him immediately. “Was there a special day or something?” He asked, looking at his uniform.

“No, just wanted to change up the style a bit.”

“You do want to be off probation within a year, right? You can't be disobeying the rules. You promised that you'd lay low.”

“People already believe that I murdered someone. It's bad enough I have to deal with the rumors every single day.”

Sojiro looked like he wanted to say something, but bit his tongue as Akira growled in frustration and headed upstairs.

“You sure, you're alright, Akira?” Morgana asked.

“Yeah,” he said, hearing a hint of dejection in his voice.

Morgana couldn't help but notice that this wasn't usual for him to act out like that. He was left to ponder about him as Akira drifted off to sleep.


	5. 7/16

**Evening**

Exams were just a few days ago, but Akira was still tired coming back to the same old grind. At least the exams were over, and they could finally relax. The Phantom thieves all sat upstairs in Akira’s bedroom, wondering of what to do as a celebration. “What are we gonna do for passing our exams?” Ryuji looked at them, eager for something to celebrate. Akira gave him that smug grin of his, feeling that same excitement.

“And for taking down the palace as well,” Yusuke added, whispering as Sojiro looked at the group confused for a moment.

“Fireworks are gonna be in a few days, so how about we go and celebrate then?” Ann suggested, trying to act casual.

“That would be a nice celebration. I’ve been wanting to wear my new Yukata I bought a while back…” Makoto was already figuring out the day in her head.

“Ah, Matsuri’s have such a nice atmosphere to them. It’s truly unique,” Yusuke mused.

“Please save me some food, I wanna taste all kinds of treats there!” Morgana pleaded.

“I’ll save you some Yakitori, so don’t worry,” Akira calmed him down, petting him softly.

“Thank you…” Finally, he was going to get some delicious food after waiting so long.

Ann was already thinking about what Yukata she should wear. She was eager to go and see what kinds of Yukata’s they had available in town a few days before. “What are you going to wear, leader? Something sleek?”

“I need to get me one, I didn’t pack anything special before I got here…” Akira admitted.

“You are not going out to a Matsuri unprepared! Not on my watch! Nuh uh!” She wagged her finger at him. “Please let me find you a good one! I want you to look good!” Ann pounced at the chance to help anyone in a fashion emergency.

“I haven’t been to one, so I don’t know what would be appropriate,” Akira twiddled his thumbs nervously.

“That’s why you have me here, silly!” Ann looked Akira with her puppy dog eyes. “Please?”

“Of course, that’s you area of expertise.”

“Yay!” She was ecstatic with glee. “You will look perfect, I promise you won’t regret it!”

“I know you’ll find the perfect outfit, and you could help Ryuji too. I heard he needs one as well. We’ll all go together.” Akira turned to Yusuke, “Do you have one?”

“I do, although mine will be considerably average compared to what Ann will have in store for you,” Yusuke answered.

“Then you come too, your new Yukata will be on me, in fact if you guys want new ones I want to pay for it all. Consider it my treat,” Akira smiled. He wanted to do anything and everything so all his friends could enjoy the evening.

“Why thank you… I don’t know what else to say…” Yusuke was eternally grateful for the opportunity he had given him.

"And, let's make it a sleepover afterwards, why not enjoy it for longer?" Akira suggested.

"Sure, why not?"


	6. 7/17

**After School**

Ann held up the red yukata with black and white flowers to Akira, looking at how good the colors fit with him. “Doesn’t this feel familiar?” She grinned at him, satisfied with the outcome.. He could see there was a theme she was planning out inside her head. 

She had a pink and red yukata picked out. For Akira, a red, black and white. For Ryuji, a mostly black and red with a hint of yellow. Makoto had a deep blue already laid out at home, and Yusuke had black and a light blue with white rimmed sleeves.

“How do you like them?” Ann asked, looking at them with her sweet eyes.

“They’re not great…” Ryuji said, Akira jerked his arm into his side. “They’re amazing,” Ryuji coughed out, rubbing it. The sunshine boy went to hug her with his cheeky smile.

“You scared me for a second!” Ann joked. “I thought you were gonna say it was terrible…”

“No, they’re perfect.” Akira smiled, “You have a way with themes.”

“Yes, the color palette suits us all to a T.” Yusuke was amazed by her work as well.

“Thank you! Now I’m even more excited for tomorrow!” Ann beamed. 

“I believe for the night we are the Yukata thieves,” Yusuke gave a composed smile. 

They all laughed with each other as they went on home with their new Yukata’s in hand. “Tomorrow, we celebrate in style!” Ann raised an invisible glass as they all raised their Yukata’s to her hand.


	7. 7/18

**Evening**

Tokyo’s skies were lit ablaze with sparks flying across the sky. Tokyo square was ripe with food venues.The air smelled of fresh Yakitori and the sweet smell of fresh candied apples. 

“The place is sure busy this evening. All of Tokyo has been sectioned off for the evening.” Makoto pointed out, looking at the lanterns lit by the vendors. 

“They sure are, it’s very pleasing to the eyes.” Yusuke took in the atmosphere like an artist to his own work of art. Then Yusuke found Ann taking his hand. He looked her confused for a moment before he started taking Makoto wrist as well.

“Well, we better get going!” Ann took Yusuke and Makoto to watch the fireworks. Akira and Ryuji were the only ones there now.

“They just left us!” Ryuji complained gesturing with his hands to the three of them walking off. Akira chuckled, taking Ryuji’s hand. 

“Ann was the one that planned this. She asked me if it was alright. She wanted you to have a romantic night with me.”

“So you were in on it too, huh?” Ryuji smiled and looked up at the cloudy sky. 

“They wanted you to have something special before Makoto finds out about your exams.”

“Oh shit, that’s right. She still doesn’t know yet does she?”

“No, but after this, be prepared for some extra work from her, I don’t know if Ann will tell her or not.”

“Dammit,” he shook his fists. “I knew this wasn’t going to last long…”

“Let’s just enjoy it while we can, then.” Akira took his attention elsewhere, leading Ryuji to look at all the festival goodies had to offer. 

“Did you guys have anything like this back home?” Ryuji asked, looking at the watame.

“I don’t know. I haven’t been to a Matsuri since I was little. Much of this stuff is unfamiliar to me.” Ryuji immediately grabbed some Dango’s on a stick and handed it to him.

“Here Aki, try this.” The fluffy haired boy looked at it for a moment curiously, seeing the lightly colored dango stuck on his stick, before chewing it down. 

“Have you tried it before?” Akira asked him.

“Yeah, I have them every once in a while. I usually don’t like sweet things, but this is a very mildly sweet taste that I can handle.”

“Yeah, this tastes good.” He leans the dango over for Ryuji to take a bite. Akira takes a chance to give his a sweet kiss, letting him savor it as they eat it together. 

He doesn’t care that people stare at him, tonight it’s just him and Ryuji, nothing else matters.

They spend the whole entire evening together playing games as tiny droplets start to fall hours into their date. Sojiro did say that there was a possibility it would rain tonight, but luckily Akira brought his umbrella, covering the both of them as they head back to Leblanc.

Ann was still wringing her sopping wet Yukata as the couple came in. “It’s a shame that this rain had to ruin everything… You guys looked like you were having fun.” Ann gave them a flirtatious smile. “Did you guys at least get to have fun together for a bit?” 

“Yeah,” Akira leaned into Ryuji. “I still didn’t get a chance to get a candied apple, though…”

“Ooh, maybe we could make some candied apples?” Ann suggested. “Would that be alright, Sojiro-san?” 

“Yeah, that’s fine. I think we have all the right ingredients… Just make sure to clean up when you’re done.”

“Of course, thank you, Sojiro-san.” Makoto thanked him, leaving them to a night filled with sweets, all the while the boom of fireworks could be heard in the distance.


	8. 7/19

**Early Morning**

After a night filled with video games and some friendly competition, the Phantom Thieves were woken up by Akira’s alarm that morning. 

“Ugh... “ Ann groaned. “I really wished we didn’t have to have school six days of the week… Couldn’t we have a vacation for one day?”

Makoto sat on the couch next to the tv, wide awake. “You guys don’t usually wake up this early? I’m usually up at around six.” She sipped at her fresh cup of coffee. Sojiro must’ve fixed her a cup.

Yusuke seemed to not be undeterred by his alarm. He still was in his own peaceful dreams, sleeping the day away. “Oh yeah, his school starts later than us. We’ll let him sleep a little bit longer…” 

Ryuji rubbed his eyes and quickly started looking for his uniform. Akira and Ryuji left the room for the girls to get dressed, only to hear Ann scream a few minutes later. 

“Yusuke’s awake,” Akira pointed out, getting a spoonful of curry. They nodded together simultaneously.

Ann, Makoto and Yusuke came down a few minutes later and sat down to eat. “Thank you so much for making this for us,” they all said to him in unison, taking it down as the four of them headed off to school.

**After school**

“So, what should we do for the real celebration? I know for the next few days. Someone is going to be doing some drills to help them prepare for the next exam…” Makoto’s eyes were like daggers, setting her sights on Ryuji. “And Kaneshiro has turned himself in now, so we should do something fun.”

“Last time we went to a nice buffet that had delicious desserts,” Ann said, thinking about the magnificent crepes and chocolate cake.

“How about we all work together to make a big meal?” Makoto suggested.

“Oooo, that’s a great idea!” Ann agreed. “But how about this: let’s make something together as a team. So what is something we all enjoy?”

“How about sushi? That way we can bring the stuff we like and make our own sushi platter?” Morgana suggested.

“You really want to get some, don’t you?” Ann asked as Akira smirked at him.

“YES! Every time you guys go out for it, I always end up with nothing!” Morgana complained.

“That honestly sounds like a good idea,” Makoto seemed to be up for it. “Kind of like a make your own sushi kind of thing.”

“Exactly! That sounds like a good idea.” Ann agreed.

“Akira, bring me some spicy tuna…” Morgana ordered. “That’s all I want, please!” he begged him with his little tiny paws.

“Of course,” he patted him on the head. We can’t leave you out of this, you’re a part of the team too.” He turned his focus back to them. “I’ll bring the rice and spicy tuna along with some seaweed. I just want to make an onigiri.”

“No soy sauce?! That’s like havin’ ramen without the toppings!” Ryuji objected.

Akira looked at them, feeling dejected. He knew Yusuke was always having money troubles, so he put it on himself to spoil him. “Let me get you whatever you like,” Akira said, changing the subject.

“I’ll just take a regular fish. I just want to make myself some Sashimi.”

“Done,” he promised. “I’ll add that to my grocery list, and we’ll do it tomorrow.”

“Thank you Akira, for doing this. I don’t know what I can do to make it up to you.”

“You don’t have to make it up to me, we’re friends and you don’t owe me a single thing. Let me spoil you guys some more, since the rain ruined a lot of the fireworks.”

“Alright then. I’ll leave it in your hands,” Yusuke nodded, feeling relieved.

“So I have to ask, what was up with that costume change?” Ryuji asked. “None of us has had somethin’ like that happen to us.”

“I don’t know why that happened. I think it’s because I went to the next level, defeating a boss.”

“I don’t know why he changed either, but I can feel a new power come from him.” Morgana said matter-of-factly, “We’ll just have to see what has changed when we get another tip from Mishima.”

“Okay, for now, we’ll just lay low and relax.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Ryuji pumped his fist into the air.


	9. 7/24

**Evening**

The place had been set, with everyone huddling to the middle to grab them some rice. Akira made himself an onigiri, and patted it into a triangle as Ryuji added some soy sauce onto it. Everyone laughed as he was left to eat the soy-sauce onigiri. “It’s good! Try it again!” Ryuji would do this too, when they went to the ramen place. He’d always insist to add one thing of ginger to give it more of a flavor. Ryuji chomped at his onigiri, and Akira just sat it on his plate.

“It’s yours. You ate it already.” Akira tried for another and it was drenched again, leaving Akira to stare at it. “I don’t want soy sauce on it…” In return he drenched Ryuji’s sashimi with soy sauce, and ate it like nothing was wrong with it.

“Unlike you,” he booped Akira’s nose, ruffling his fluffy curls. “I like soy sauce on everythin’.”

“Good, I’ll remember that.” Akira protested, turning his head away from his boyfriend.

“Here,” he starting making him an onigiri in the shape of a heart. They moved closer to each other, eating at the sides, coming together for a kiss. 

Akira made Morgana a plate of his spicy tuna and went upstairs to give it to him. “Thank you…” he purred. “You guys sound like you’re having fun down there.”

“You want to join? I can sneak you down there if Sojiro doesn’t find out,” he whispered, grabbing his school bag to open it. “Thanks,” he leaped inside as Akira took him downstairs. Now the whole gang was here. Akira slid him another spicy tuna.

“This was a fun idea, we should do more stuff like this,” Makoto said, taking a bite of her gunkan maki. 

“Yeah, making the sushi is the fun part, and getting to eat it too? Now that’s the dream…” Ann savored her temaki.

Yusuke was still in the process of layering his first sashimi. He watched as he tried to place it evenly on the top to give it the full effect. 

“It doesn’t have to be perfect, Yusuke.” Ann patted his shoulder. “It’s going to get cold if you keep trying to make it perfect.”

“Sushi is an artisan’s work, Takamaki-san!” Yusuke said. “There is an art to its beauty and I must treat it so!” Ann gave up trying, shaking her head, leaving him be as she made another temaki.

They all headed home after a delicious evening filled with sushi.


	10. 7/25

Akira didn’t know that Sojiro had a daughter. He wouldn’t prod in on his life, because he was just letting him stay at the cafe for the year. Things have changed now. Being contacted by an entity that seemed to call themself Alibaba. 

Then came the name Futaba Sakura. He had heard that name from a man who once barged in late at night into Leblanc. Sojiro seemed angry at him, the man almost relished in seeing his pained expression. The Leblanc owner would always make him go upstairs, saying this was something he’d deal with, but heard his angry yelling a few minutes later as the whole cafe rattled from someone slamming the door. He remembered hearing the dead silence ring.

Thinking back to it now, he had a feeling it had to do with her. The man must be in some kind of funk to do something as rude as force Sojiro to pay to him under her care.

Taking down Medjed in the next few days was the top priority. And changing her heart would prove beneficial for everyone. Futaba Sakura was someone they needed the most in these dire times.

**After school**

“So, she thinks of her home as a tomb?” Makoto inspected the walls as they entered the palace. They seem to glow with unknown words as if it was like some alien technology.

“I’m so glad this place is air conditioned…” Ryuji seemed relieved. “I thought I was gonna melt…” he started to fan himself. 

They noticed their clothes hadn’t changed yet. Futaba didn’t see them as a threat, for now. They made their way upwards, watching out for the lava floor as they jumped on the broken structure to move ahead. Akira guided them safely as there seemed to be no enemies at all seen on the top of the steps. They walked upward, taking the chance.

They kept their guard up as they reached the final step, finding a cognitive version of Futaba standing before them in Egyptian garb.

“So, where’s your treasure?” Ryuji wanted answers. Futaba only let out a bored meh. “You gotta know where it is.”

“Ryuji! Give her some time to explain herself.” Ann said, moving up towards her. “I’m sorry, Futaba-chan. You can speak when the words come to you. It’s alright, we just want to know if you know where we can find your treasure.”

“Why have you band of thieves entered my tomb?” She asked abruptly, startling Ann with her cold words.

“We want to help you, you wanted us to steal your treasure in the first place!” Ryuji almost pointed a finger at her, but Akira held him down.

“Try and steal it if you believe you can. I doubt she’ll give it to anyone with how the palace is progressing. There’s no way she’ll let you steal it.”

That’s when they heard the voices. Murderer. You’re the one who killed her. It’s your fault.

“Whose voices are these?” Akira wondered.

“That’s right. I did it.” The shadow admitted.

“No way…” was all Ryuji could say.

“I am the one who killed my mother.” The pyramid shook as an unearthly scream echoed throughout the entire palace. “My mother is here to make me pay for all eternity. I’ll remain here as a penance for killing her and do so until I die. I deserve this fate. I made it happen. Leave me here to pay for my crimes.”

“No way, dude! We can’t let this continue!” Ryuji yelled as their Phantom Thieves clothes returned.

“She sees us as a threat, what do we do now Joker?” Yusuke asked him.

“Let’s take a moment to calm down and-“ before Joker could finish talking, the pyramid shook again as a giant boulder fell down and started rolling down the steps. 

“RUUUUN!” Morgana took the chance and pounced downward, running as the Phantom thieves tried to catch up with him.

At the bottom of the steps the crowded around the walls and hoped it would bounce over them safely. Once it did, they looked back to see a metal door was preventing them from proceeding any further.

“I think it would be best if we retreated for now. It seems like she’s trying to protect herself. It’s not going to be as easy as we expected, but we’ll try our best to help her. With how those voices were going on in her head, we definitely need to act fast,” Morgana pointed out.

“I agree. She’s dealing with some deep traumatic experience if she believes she deserved to stay in this place,” Yusuke pointed out.

“You could feel that too? I’m glad I’m not the only one…” Makoto added.

“It’s alright. Starting tomorrow, we’ll make a dent in those defenses for sure, now that we know how to get in there.” With Joker giving them some confidence, they headed out, leaving the palace behind.

**Evening**

“So, I think we should cover as much as we can each day. The sooner we get the palace over with, the more time we can relax and get Medjed off our backs,” Akira suggested. “Can you guys handle taking a floor each day?”

“I can handle it. If we need to take a break we can always switch out our group and come back later if we’re up to it,” Makoto agreed.

“I’m up for it too, let me at ‘em!” Ryuji revved himself up.

“Yes, that would alleviate a lot of stress off all our shoulders. I’m willing if you are,” Yusuke added.

“I can do it, my modeling schedule is empty for the next few days, let’s do it!” Ann explained. They were all willing to put forth the effort and headed on home, hoping that Futaba would still be fine in the morning.

**7/26**  
 **After school**

Futaba had thrown some wrenches into their plans. It seemed she didn’t mean to push them away, but she did, setting booby traps whenever they’d try to go the normal way. 

Now, to progress they needed a paper that one of the bandits had stolen from the place. How typical. The gang had managed to corner the bandit, but he was already trying to get them to help him out. “We’re in the same league, aren’t we?” It tried to negotiate with them, but it wasn’t working.

“Not a chance, now give us the paper, or else!” Ryuji readied his weapon as they started to battle. With the bandit transforming into a gold winged bird. Maybe the bullets from his gun would knock him down. It was worth a shot, so Joker ran at him, and shot as he skidded underneath the enemy, giving his teammates a chance for an all-out attack as they took him down as soon as he came. 

After the battle was over, Skull couldn’t help but notice Jokers sleeves were tinged with red, only slightly, but it seemed off. Joker looked at him and noticed it as well, but shrugged it off as well. He was battling fine, in fact, he felt at the top of his game, it wasn’t a hindrance it the metaverse, so Joker deemed it something they shouldn’t worry about.

By the end of the floor, all of his teammates could visibly see how red his sleeves on his tailcoat had become. Joker had improved his technique and seemed to help take down the enemies even faster.

**7/27**   
**After school**

The more enemies they battled, the more his uniform started to change. At first it was the sleeves, now his entire arms had turned to Arsene’s crimson red. 

The more they continued on, the more they were able to see into why Futaba had made her own distorted desires become a tomb of endless pain and suffering. She was dealing with the death of her mother, and it seemed she didn’t know how to cope with it, but they hadn’t gotten the full story yet, gathered the little information they had and held onto it, til they could find out more.

**7/28**  
 **After School**  
The higher they went, the harder the palace seemed to become. Even the team was starting to get fatigued halfway through. Joker tried his best to make sure they were supplied with plenty of medicine to make up for it. He did his best as his power was starting to improve more. He found that he could use magic without the need of summoning a persona. It seemed it was giving him, an almost better advantage as he could throw multiple spells at the enemy without having to switch to the next person.

**7/29**

**After School**  
They were at the top, what awaited them above was something they’d never expected, huge towering enemy made by Futaba’s cognition. “That’s the lady we kept seeing in the pictures!” Ann realized.

It swatted at them, like a cat and leapt into the air, circling around them, almost as if she was waiting to take her roadkill. Joker and everyone put forth their most powerful spells, trying to keep it up for as long as they could. But even with Joker able to do multiple strikes, it wasn’t enough.

The enemy abandoned their usual swat with the occasional gust of wind and started ascending into the clouds. They all stood prepared and guarded themselves, waiting for it to strike.

When it finally dive bombed at them, it knocked nearly half of their hp, even when guarded.

“We ain’t even putting a dent on it,” Ryuji yelled, feeling angry.

Makoto breathed a heavy sigh, noticing some bright orange hair. “Futaba?”

“I’m here.” She looked up at the creature. “M-mom…” She fell to her knees. “I killed you…”

Makoto ran to her side, she was shaking her head as if something was troubling her. The cognitive distortion of her Mom kept yelling at her, telling her it’s all her fault. Futaba seemed to be in her own little world, trying to find what was truth from fiction. Makoto sat by her, telling her she could do this, keep searching. “Your mother never abused you did she? Boss told us she tried her best raising you all by yourself!”

“These memories of you mother, they couldn’t possibly be real. Search for the truth in your mind!” Yusuke encouraged her.

“False memories?” Futaba tried to think, but all the voice were still taunting her, scolding her, making her feel disappointed.

“Futaba Sakura! Remember!” her cognitive shadow appeared. “The note couldn’t be real. My mother would never say those words…” Futaba started to get up. “I couldn’t face Mom’s death so I ignored the truth that was put before my eyes. My mother loved me like no one did!” She yelled at it once again. “All those stupid adults turned me into the victim, making me feel regret for the past seven years!”

“You knew from the very beginning, and yet the regret of everything held you back… Who will you believe, cursed words spat by and illusion or the truth that you know deep down in your soul?” A mysterious voice called out to her.

“I won’t let those false truths plague my mind, I know what’s real from the lies that was put in place by those rotten adults! You aren’t my Mom, and I’ll never forgive them for what they did to me!” She screamed at it. Her own shadow cognition heeded her resolve and transformed into a glowing green UFO that started to pull her upward. She disappeared which alarmed them. “I’m fine.” Futaba said from the ship. “Let’s take down this place once and for all!” The team sprung in for action as Futaba conjured a ballista. “Use this, it should drain her hp a lot more!” Joker nodded, and was already thinking up a plan. 

“Mona, will you do the shooting?” he asked him.

“I’ve got your back Joker!” and headed for it, bringing in Yusuke to take his place temporarily until Mona got back. They all threw their best at her like always, each time Joker striked, the more red his suit became. The ballista striked, taking one fourth of her hp. They all kept it up, as Futaba provided them with power ups. By then, it seemed crimson was all over his Phantom thief outfit. Joker put in the last shot before he was overcome with a bright light as his suit changed entirely, looking like Arsene’s fancy uniform.

“Whoa, man you got an upgrade dude, sweet!” Skull commented, and Joker winked at him.

They went on home, with Akira feeling like the best he’d ever felt. The overwhelming power that flowed through him was stronger than ever before. Futaba came down and started heading out, leaving the phantom thieves to use Morgana to escape as the ran down the pyramid, screaming and yelling as the palace started crumbling before their eyes.

**Evening**

They all went to see Futaba afterwards, but she was already starting to hack into Medjed for them like she promised. All her attention was focused on the computer. They tried to talk to her, but she was in her own little world.

Akira stayed with her that night and fell asleep to the clack of her keyboard.


	11. 7/30

**Early Morning**

Futaba Sakura was asleep when Akira woke up that morning. She must’ve been up for hours working on taking down MedJed, so he let her get her luxury sleep as he headed back to the cafe to get dressed and eat some breakfast before he headed out for school.

**Evening**

A lot of things clouded Akira’s mind as he headed home after hanging out with Ryuji for a bit. When he returned home, Sojiro had left the place to him. He was starting to do that more often. It seemed he was finally starting to give him some more responsibility.

“Good evening.” A familiar chestnut haired boy greeted him. Goro Akechi. The Detective Prince of Tokyo. He was very overly kind with everything he did with his mannerisms and all. He kept up his appearance and rarely came to the cafe, but today was different. He came here with intent. 

“Good evening to you too,”

“Medjed has seemed to be hacked by the Phantom Thieves last night. Did you hear about that?” he asked him.

“Yeah, I found out about that a little while ago.” Akira poured his usual dark coffee with extra cream and sugar.

“Thank you. You remembered my order from last time?” Akechi was flirting at him, with his eyes, Akira ignored it, because he always was very upfront about everything with his gestures, and he already had a boyfriend. He would fakely flirt back with him, just to send mixed signals with no intentions of committing.

“I did. I’m good at remembering people’s usual,” Akira said simply, making himself the blue mountain special as he sat down next to him.

“So, what do you think their next move will be? I’m curious.”

“Who knows? The Phantom thieves are mysterious like that,” and he left him to ponder as Akechi thanked him for his coffee and headed home.

**Dream**

Akira awoke to a dark abyss, seemingly endless in its distance. Far off he could see something. Akira didn't know why, but he felt afraid. It seemed far away, but he had noticed it was starting to move closer. It was coming. Coming for him.

8/20

**Early morning**

It seemed as if every night the creature was starting to drift closer to him. Finally, he could see who it was. It was Arsene, his persona, but it seemed like he didn’t want to be close to him, as if something was forcing him move towards Akira. 

Each night he’d get closer and closer to Arsene until they were a mere few inches from each other. “I’m sorry my dear Trickster, I’m sorry for what it has done to me and will do to you, but it’s too late, it’s already changed you,” was all he could say as Arsene seemed to phase into his body, scaring him awake as he felt something cling to his heart. Almost like a phantom pain he couldn’t pinpoint where it came from.

Already, the dream seemed to fade from his memory and he couldn’t recall why his heart was pumping so loud in his head. He wiped his face and felt a shiver go down his spine as he looked in the mirror only to notice his eyes glowed red for a split second, he immediately walked out of the bathroom and hoped that school would be better.

**Dream**

That night Akira dreamed he was flying through the sky, soaring past the buildings of Tokyo. Akira could feel the air tussle against his hair, wind sounding through his ears, he felt free, like he could go anywhere. 

That freedom made him feel like his probation didn’t exist. His chains of society were still there, but he broke free, breaking what set him back. That was what he desired most out of everything, to be able to be in his own skin and feel like himself.

His parent’s would never let him be that way. He doubted they’d let him wear the old clothes he used to wear. With his parents he had to be perfect. Perfect looks, perfect grades, perfect everything. Anything less than that, and he was trash. Left to be stepped on by others. 

He hated that about his parents. He wished that they were the same as they used to be. But now, they were making him play the societal roles. He should be grateful he was let on probation. Be grateful he even got someone to take care of him on probation Have a house to live under. Have a high school that will willingly accept him.

He didn’t want this. He hated their attitude towards him. Maybe they should just pay for his suffering. He’s suffered enough, losing the support of his family. They will pay for it.

Akira could see a house in the suburbs. He dived into it, leaving the place a deserted mess as he focused his rage on the whole room, scratching the walls, furniture, everything. He could hear someone scream, but he had no care in the world. 

Karma, that’s what the world said, if someone did something bad to you, they should get it back twice fold...


	12. 8/21

**Early morning**

The next morning Akira was woken up by Sojiro. He stirred in his bed and blinked his eyes at him. “Morning,” Akira said as he was still half asleep. 

“Akira, I hate to tell you this, but I received some terrible news this morning.”

“Huh?” He cocked his head in confusion. “What is it?” Akira sat up immediately. He got his attention, wide awake now.

Sojiro took a moment to sit down on his bed. “It’s about your parents…” Sojiro scratched his neck nervously, “Your parents were found dead in their home last night,” he tried to explain as gently as he could. 

“W-what?” Akira's eyes stared at Sojiro with disbelief. “T-they’re dead?” 

“Yeah, I’m so sorry. This just happened a few hours ago. Your brother found them like that, so we don’t really know what caused it yet. But if I hear anything I'll let you know as soon as I can.”

Akira didn't want to believe that the parents he knew his entire life were gone from this world. Sure, he didn't have the best relationship with his parents, with them not arguing for his innocence.They believed he deserved it for dressing like a low life. Inside, Akira felt like he was a disappointment to them. The delinquent who ruined it for his entire families reputation, now known as a criminal on his permanent record.

Sojiro patted him on the shoulder. “The sad thing was no one wanted you, not your uncles or anyone else. Since you've been doing fine on your own here, I went ahead and filed for the adoption papers, since I was the closest adult with you under my custody as well.”

“I’m a part of your family now…” Akira held those words close to his heart. It felt so right to feel close to them. To feel like he belonged there. He never felt like that at his home back in the countryside.

“I know this place isn't like your house back home, but I do consider you family. I do apologize for my harsh introduction when you first came here, but I hope that you can someday consider me a Father to you, but it doesn't have to be right now. We'll take it day by day if you like,” Sojiro promised.

“You already feel like a Dad to me,” Akira chuckled, hugging him as he started to tear up. He had to find some kind of joy in the situation. It would only make him feel depressed if he had time to think; he didn’t want to think about it, but he had to ask the question.

“So, what do we do now?”

“In a few days we’ll heading out for the funeral. Futaba and the others are coming along too. They want to be there for you, if you need it.”

“Hikaru’s planning it?” Akira hated hearing himself say his name. He hadn’t talked to him since he went on probation. His brother spat in his direction, as if he was rotten filthy trash. The lowest of the low. 

“Yes. He’s preparing it. You don’t have to go if you don’t feel like it. It seems like you guys don’t get along that well from what I’ve heard.”

“No, we haven’t. Not for a long time. He disowned me, like my parents did, and he hasn’t spoken to me in months, and I think he wants to keep it that way. I do want to attend the funeral though, I want to pay my parents respect one last time.”

“I think that’s the wisest choice. You’re friends will be there to support you.”

“I need everyone I can get. I’ll let them know, and they’ll get ready.”

“Alright. Get your stuff, you’re moving in with me,” Sojiro gestured him, grabbing his school bag. Akira grabbed his big box he shoved into the corner at the beginning of the year. Looking at it now, he didn’t bring much. All of what he had was in a box along with some souvenirs he got from his friends. Ryuji’s ramen… He smiled at it, taking one last look at his old room before heading downstairs with Morgana following behind.

**Morning**

“They're sending all your stuff over here, so I'm getting your new room settled in. That old bedroom you stayed in a while ago? That’s gonna be your room, and Futaba woke up this morning. She’s waiting for us.”

“I’m excited to be with you guys. We need to do something to celebrate, help lighten the mood a bit.”

“You sure?” Sojiro asked. “Don’t you think it’s too soon?”

“No. I can’t let myself get down. It’s just not good to stay like that.”

“Alright then. Where shall we celebrate?”

“I just want to celebrate at LeBlanc. Nothing fancy.”

“That, I can arrange. Do you want me to make anything?”

“Just your famous curry. That always tastes good.”

Sojiro simply nodded as they entered his home. Futaba was waiting for them inside. “Welcome home, bro!” She gave him a hug. “You have leveled up to siblings.” She smirked as she pushed up her glasses.

“Now that you’re finally awake, how about I make us some food to celebrate?” Sojiro asked.

“Looks like I’ll be staying here in Tokyo. So, I’ll be able to stay with everyone,” Akira was unexpectedly happy about it. 

“I know that, I hacked into your phone. I let everyone know about this Saturday for you.”

“Thank you.”

“Also, they’re all headed over here right now.”

“Wow, that was fast.”

“Yeah, we gotta have a chance to celebrate.”

“Alright. So, I guess we’ll start cooking.”

“And I’ll keep watch,” Futaba said, as she settled down into the booth.

“I think it’d be nice for you to help us this time, Futaba. At least learn the ropes,” Sojiro asked nicely.

“I do need to level up my cooking stats…” Despite that, Futaba couldn’t do it. She let them work on ahead and watched as she sat in her little corner of Leblanc. Once they were done, Akira came to sit with her.

“Welcome to the team,” Akira smiled at her. She took out her phone and typed:

> Alibaba: thx  
>  J: We can talk normally, it’s alright.  
>  Alibaba: How can u be so calm?  
>  J: Calm about what?  
>  Alibaba: Your parents?  
>  J: I’ll grieve on my own time, but right now, I want to help you. You’ve gone through a lot.  
>  Alibaba: I guess.  
>  J: Is there anything you want to do now that we helped you overcome that?  
>  Alibaba: There was a list that my Mom and I wrote together, it was things to help me do to keep adjusted.  
>  J: Then let’s start somewhere where’s you’re comfortable. How about we go to Akihabara tonight?  
>  Alibaba: sure… Start off simple.  
>  J: Yup, let’s take this one step at a time.  
> 

The door burst open, and the two slammed down their phones as everyone entered. “Hey Akira,” Ryuji gave him hug, and they all started piling up into one huge clump of comfort.

“You don’t have to celebrate if you don’t want to. It’s alright.” Ann comforted him.

“I want to celebrate. I get to stay with you guys. I’m happy to spend even a moment with you all. But right now, I think we need to help out Futaba.” He started whispering looking at her. “She is a part of our group. But she won’t even really talk outside of texting besides maybe a few sentences..” Akira gestured over to her, sitting at the table all alone.

“Yeah, but since your her sister now I think it’s best that right now, you guys should get to know each other better,” Ann suggested.

“That’s what I thought so too. I’ll handle the next few days, maybe help her come out of her shell a little bit more.”

“That sounds like the right thing to do. We’ll leave you to it, Akira,” They all agreed with Makoto. 

**Evening**

After they celebrated, they left Akira alone with Futaba as Sojiro cleaned up the dishes.

They started heading to the station to head to Akihabara. It was one of the places Akira enjoyed shopping around. With tons of video game stores and unique merchandise to check out.

Futaba let her interests get the best of her as she walked into a game center, just looking at all the arcade machines. “Can I have some yen?” she pointed at one of them.

“Sure,” Akira said, handing her some.

After playing for a few hours, they started to head down the street looking at the store as they started heading back for the station. Futaba stayed close to him. “Thank you for bringing me her…” she said with a whisper. 

“It was no problem. Did it feel comfortable being in there?”

Futaba nodded yes. “I do feel better. Where shall we go next on our side quest?” She asked.

It was a start, but he didn't want to overwhelm her. He didn't want to give her an anxiety attack, but this was her territory. Something for her to connect with and ease her back into talking and being in a more social environment.

They walked together into an electronics store, and looked around. He could easily see she was calmer when she had someone around. She gripped his arm slightly, moving in close to him as she looked at the games.

She could feel it too. “You’re like a key item I need. I feel better when I have a buddy, can you be my key item on my new side quest?”

“Of course. You know I would’ve said yes, no matter what. We are family now, and a team, so welcome Oracle.”

“Oh!” Futaba gleamed. “How about as thanks for helping you, I’ll open up a little bit more? It’ll be a nice way of us getting to know each other better.”

“And to help us grow better as teammates,” Akira added doing finger guns at her as she mimicked him.

“Exactly! I like this plan.”

Just as they were about to leave an announcement came on, then seconds later, the store was flooded with people hoping to catch the elusive deal of the day. Futaba was nowhere to be seen, swallowed up by the chaos of the crowd. Akira immediately started running for her. “Futaba!”

“Akira!” He could see her tiny hands holding out for him as he swam through to take her out. “That was so scary…” she shook her head, fixing her hair. Thank you for coming for me.”

“No problem,”Akira shrugged it off. “I was worried they might’ve trampled over you…

“I was afraid too. Let’s forget that happened, so we don’t have to tell Sojiro…”

“He’d be freaked out, especially after I just went outside today.”

“Agreed,” Akira immediately said. “Not a word.” He zipped his lips as they boarded the train home.


	13. 8/22

**Early morning**

Sojiro had called the school that morning to say that Akira was going to be gone for a week. Considering the circumstances, they let him take him time to deal with his parents passing, but right now, Akira wanted some time to get to know Futaba better. He didn’t have time to deal with his parents.

Futaba sat at the couch downstairs, searching on her computer while having some cereal that morning. “Good morning key item,” she greeted him. That was a start.

“Morning to you too,” he gave her a warm smile.

“So Sojiro is wanting me to start school again next year.” She started off, already she was wanting to start a conversation. “He thinks that it’d do me some good, but I just wanna do online classes. I’m not ready for real school...”

“It wouldn’t help doing it online. You’d only be holding yourself back,” Akira reasoned.

“I thought so too. I’m actually kinda excited to get my life starting again now.” Futaba laid back and put her arms behind her bed, getting comfy on the couch. “So what are we gonna do today?”

“I think we should make a guideline on what to do,” Akira said. “We have a few days before I go back to school so, this will be up to you.”

She pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to him. “Mom would always make me write a promise list like this every month, so that when I finish them all, she would spend some time with me. Could that work?”

“Yeah it could. That’s a good way to organize it.”

“This time I want it to help me break out of the house in a way and just learn more about the world. I’m not setting a date on when they should all be accomplished, but I want to finish them all someday. ”

“That sounds like a plan.” Akira took a look at the promises she wrote down.

> Promise list:  
>  1\. Go somewhere with lots of people.  
>  2\. Go to school  
>  3\. Learn about my generation  
>  4\. Have a normal conversation with a stranger my age  
>  5\. Being okay without Akira around. 

“I’d written these before I saw you this morning. I just felt like starting one again.” Futaba said, looking at the paper again. “Are those good ideas?” Futaba asked.

“Those are great, so, wanna see my school today, since you went into an electronics store with tons of people?”

“I did do that, didn’t I? Wow, I’ve leveled up already? Alright, show me your school!” Futaba closed her laptop, setting it down on the table and stood up, starting towards the door. Akira grabbed his bag as Morgana leaped in to catch a ride to the outside.

**After school**

Akira came in, wearing a hoodie as he was still technically excused from school, he tried to blend in, luckily people had left after school, so there wasn’t much people around to notice him.

“I-it’s so… big…” Futaba huddled towards Akira. 

“Do you need a moment?” Akira asked worried for her. “We can step outside if you want to take a moment.”

“No. I need to see everything. This’ll probably be where I go next year… I need to get familiar with it.” Futaba took a big gulp, trying to act natural. She looked around, taking a deep breath as she felt like her heart could pop out of her chest any moment, overwhelmed with just hownew everything was to her. 

“Hey, Akira.” Makoto noticed him, catching his attention and then looked to Futaba. “Hey Futaba, surprised to see you moving around so fast. Seeing the school?”

“Yup! Akira brought me. It was something I wanted to do today.” Futaba held him close to her.

“Well it’s good to see you two. Would you like me to show you around? I know the school pretty well,” Makoto offered.

“Yeah, both of you show me your secret locations!”

Makoto smiled, “We’ll show you everything, don’t worry.”

“Sweet!” She let Makoto lead the way around campus.

Wherever they went bad memories always seemed to follow. From the cafeteria to the library it somehow brought back things she wished she had forgotten. Futaba remembered how they’d call her a freak when she’d remember all the book titles, and how she ended up being the only one without a dessert at lunch.

“I’m sorry for being such a downer…”She tried to calm herself down to avoid a scene. “It’s a bad habit of mine, thinking about the negative.”

“Everyone does it. So, what we can do is change those memories. Let’s replace those bad times with better ones instead, great ones even.” Akira tried to cheer her up. 

“I’m glad that you want to take the first step forward, Futaba. Going to school was a big step for you.” Makoto said, trying her best to cheer her up.

“Yeah, it was. Akira kinda helped me out too, so thank you guys for being here.”

“And by the way, your memorization of books is a gift. Having photographic memory is pretty rare too.” 

Makoto knew a lot about stuff like that. In her life, she has met remarkable people. Ones like Akira, who found an alternate universe that affected the real world, and the ones that were intelligently gifted. She could see the signs right away.

“That’s a thing? Whoa…” was all Futaba could say.

Futaba left the school, feeling a bit better about starting next year, and as Akira returned home, Ann had dropped off his homework. Akira had some work to do, and Futaba had some business of her own as she checked it off her list, looking at it with a satisfactory smile.


	14. 8/23

**After school**

Akira finished working on his homework that Ann dropped off yesterday. He flexed his wrists and stood up from his desk that arrived this morning. Akira was about to go downstairs the fix himself some dinner when he was greeted by Futaba, just about to knock at his door.

"Hey bro," She said greeting him. “I know I said that we didn’t have to accomplish things on my list that fast, but you’ve been so kind to me within that last few weeks, considering what I've put you through from the palace. I feel more confident about myself, despite yesterday bringing back some bad memories. I want to be better, to push myself to achieve what I couldn't a few days ago. So, I want to learn more about my generation today and talk with a stranger my age.”

“I do know someone who fits that criteria…”Akira immediately thought of Mishima, a first year student in his class.

“Perfect! Introduce me to them!” Futaba followed Akira out the door as he grabbed his bag again.

\---

Akira took her to the diner he’d occasionally come to for homework. Sitting a few booths away was Mishima, doing his homework. “Hey Mishima,” he waved to him.

“Oh, hey Akir-ha!” He was taken aback as he saw him with Futaba. “You’re quite the ladies man. I'm impressed.” Mishima eyed her for a moment.

“She’s not my girlfriend, she’s my sister," Akira said, to stop the confusion.

“Oh, I’m sorry. And sister? I thought you were on probation and none of your relatives came with you.” 

Mishima knew a lot of things, as he helped as secretary after school some days, organizing files.

“Things have changed. I have a funeral to go to with the next few days.”

“Oh, I’m sorry for your loss. Is that why I didn’t see you for the last few days?” He asked.

“Yes, but I’ll be back soon. Don’t worry, things will return to normal soon.”

“Alright. So you wanted to talk to me about something?”

“It was me," Futaba walked towards him. "I actually want to talk to you. Just have like a normal conversation.”

“Y-you just want to talk with me?” Mishima seemed surprised. 

“Yeah, it’s just I need to be able to have a normal conversation. This’ll help me get better at speaking with other people.”

“Sure, I can help. Speak away! I have no objections.”

“Aw! Thank you! You seem nice! I’m Futaba Sakura, his new sister.”

“I’m Yuuki Mishima, but you can call me Mishima.”

“Sweet NPC name! Thank you for bringing your sweet luck stats today for me, Akira!” She flattered them both.

“It’s no problem, really.” Akira turned the other way, while blushing slightly.

“So, you want to know more about your generation?” Mishima asked.

“Yes, the sweet fountain of youth…” Futaba sighed dramatically.

“Know anything about computers?”

“Yes!” She answered him immediately. “I’m always online.”

“Do you do any streaming, or have a youtube channel?” He wondered

“Uh.. no… I haven’t even thought of that, but now that gives me an idea..." All of this seemed to be up her alley. “So my generation is interested in technology? Wow, I haven’t missed much.”

“Nah, just a technological boom in accessibility," Mishima said simply.

“Very interesting…” Futaba mused.

Mishima changed the subject. “A lot of people are interested in the phantom thieves these days."

“Really? We’re popular? I’ve never had these stats before…”Futaba pondered aloud.

“Yeah, they are.” Mishima's eyes went big for a second.

Realizing the error she had made she hastily thought of a response. “Oops, sorry.”

“I’m currently working on the Phansite, helping them get more popular. People give information and I send a little something to the Phantom Thieves,” he whispered to her.

“Ah, so that who gives the information…” She whispered into Akira’s ear. He nodded simply.

“Thank you so much for letting me know about stuff NPC Mishima!”

“You’re welcome!”

Futaba seemed to do well with the conversation. Much has improved over the last few days. Akira thought maybe she was starting to broaden her horizons. It surely seemed like that as she was wanting to do something new every day.


	15. 8/24

Evening

Futaba called Akira to her room that afternoon. “On a list I’d made a long time ago, I lied to my Mom when I said I did it.” She handed him the pink paper. “I had a friend named Kana back in elementary school. I considered her the only friend I’ve had. Back then, I’d get bullied constantly, because of how weird I was. That’s when Kana transferred in. She was bullied too, and I guess that was what started it after she told me good morning when everyone else avoided me.

"I would say good morning to her too. She thought that we could be friends. She was the first person who liked me for who I was. So my Mom added something to help me stay in touch with Kana, so that would help me continue to be a good friend with her. But I couldn’t do it. 

"One day while she was having a bad day she dropped her diary and I helped pick up the pieces, but I couldn’t help but notice all the terrible things she had written down. Her parents hit her, Akira. They abused her, put her in all these weird clothes. It scared me. I wanted to help her, but she got defensive. I was weak and froze up as she yelled at me soon after that, she left, and I was devastated. 

"Mom kept adding that onto my promise list every month, and I’d lie telling her we were as close as we could be, but it was lies every single month. I hated lying to her face. I wish I could’ve been stronger and reported it. I thought about it today, and I want to apologize to Kana. I want to be friends with her again… and most importantly help her out of that situation. She doesn’t deserve it. Now that I’m a phantom thief I want to her now more than ever. Will you help me?”

“Of course,” Akira promised.

“Thank you, I just need to find out some information, so it may be a day before we go and see her, so I just wanted to ask you this personally.”

“Of course I can take you.I think this would be good for you to have a friend to hang out with.”

“Thank you so much! I’ll find you Kana-chan!” Futaba vowed to see her once again.


	16. 8/25

Morning

“Kana still lives in the same town in Kansai that she moved to after she left,” Futaba explained. “But she never went into high school… I decided to go and dig into why she decided that, and well… Things are bad. Really bad. The more I dug, the worse it was. She has parents who are in heavy debt, because of gambling addiction. Instead of sending her to school they made her work to pay off their debt! They still are making her do that disgusting stuff like I saw back in elementary school.”

“We can’t let this go on any longer,” Akira slammed his fists on the bed.

“That’s right. We can do something about it. And I looked on the phansite too, and I’m pretty sure she made a request on the site, but she didn’t give any names, but I do have their names from back when they gave them out in elementary school. Their names are Kouta Magario and Asami Magario. I checked on the nav and found them too.”

“I’ll take them down for you when everyone else gets out of school,” Akira promised.

“Thank you,” Futaba felt a relief.

**Afternoon**

They went into the bowels of Adyeshach in search of those two parents. There was no excuse for making her do all those dirty deeds just to keep money in the bank. Joker went in all by himself. With his newfound powers, these two wouldn't be a problem. "I just got their weaknesses for you!" Futaba said from her hovercraft. "The incubus is weak to fire, and the other one is weak to ice." Joker found that if he had a persona with those spells, he was able to use it as if it was their own. Luckily he did have two persona's who had those abilities. Joker surged forth in a fashionable manner and twirled around, until his hands were pointed at the both of them.

"Oh hell is gonna freeze over now," he remarked, knocking them both down for an all-out-attack as Morgana and him took them out in one shot. He high fived the cat as joker took the prize, heading on home.

Helping out Futaba meant a lot for Akira, he felt like he was helping her friend. He hoped that her friend Kana would keep in touch with her. After the battle, they were all fatigued as they headed to bed. They'd saved someone and it felt good to do it.


	17. 8/26

**Morning**

Futaba looked back at her completed list and felt something was missing. She thought about it that morning as she scrolled through her computer. Akira had helped her so much, but she realized she didn’t really know that much about her own new brother. So she sought to change that. Her feet moved to Akira’s room and patiently waited for his response once she knocked on the door. "come on in," she heard his muffled voice call. She could see his room was decorated with phantom thieves stuff. 

He was flipping through a manga as she came in. “Morning bro.”

“Morning sis,” he smiled at her, putting down the manga.

“I wanted to ask you if you could tell me about yourself.”

“You want to know about me?” Akira asked, wondering why she'd be interested in someone as normal as him.

“Yes, you helped me out so much, that I want to learn about you if that's alright.”

“I’m not that special,” he shrugged off her interest. "While Joker is a part of me, I don't necessarily see myself as that stylish or consider myself a spectacle."

“You are too!” Futaba objected. “I-I’m sorry if I’m prying a bit. It’s just, you’re here for me, so I want to be here for you too.”

“I guess I’ll tell you a bit about me. I had never really lived in a bustling city like Tokyo, full of tall structures and tons of stores. I used to live out in the country in a small town called Inaba. I used to live in a semi-decent house before my parents became millionaires over winning a jackpot."

"Whoa, you're a millionaire son? I didn't expect you to have that kind of life."

"I did, but to be honest I hated that lifestyle. When my friends learned that I became rich they were asking for money all the time. That's when we moved closer to Tokyo, just in the far outer limits."

We eventually moved into a mansion in the suburb part of town. At first we were grateful this happened, but later on, my parents became obsessed with money. So much so, I would’ve probably become a snob just like them within those few years, but I still like the way things were before. l always liked wearing my old graphic t-shirts. My Mom and dad hated seeing me wear my old clothes. 

"So you were considered like the rebel of the family?" Futaba inquired.

"Yeah, I guess you could call it that. I liked my old town, and my relationship with my brother was good then But after the charges were put against me, my parents didn’t want anything to do with me, I already knew things were gonna change once I got back. They’d kick me out, or leave me to be with Sojiro. In their eyes I've already ruined my reputation as their perfect son.”

“Do you have a brother or sister?”

“I have a brother named Hikaru. He and I are identical twins. We used to be very close before we came into wealth. Now, I guess he's turned out just as bad as my parents. He likes to keep up appearances and seem obsessed about how he looks.”

“I didn’t think your family was rich, you just looked like a regular guy to me.”

“Yeah, I don’t like flaunting money around. I do like getting to do fun stuff with it, like treat you guys. But that’s after I worked hard hours and actually earned my money.”

“Ah. So, tell me about your hobbies.” Futaba could tell he was getting angry being reminded of the past, so she changed the subject.

“Video games are fun. Sometimes I like reading manga or settling down with a good book.”

“You have a favorite anime?”

“Lupin the third.”

“Ah… so you can see the references can’t you?” She smirked at him as if it was already considered an inside joke.

“Yup, kind of ironic.”

“Thought so too… Favorite genre?”

“Suspense/ mystery.”

“So with all that’s going around, aren’t you suspicious?”

“Always," Akira answered simply.

“Is it alright to ask you about your parents?” Her curious mind wanted to know.

“Yeah… It’s fine," he said, there was almost a hesitance in his voice.

“What were they like before?”

“My mom used to be really humble. My Dad was the goofball, and smooth-talker of the family before they changed.

“I’m surprised you’re handling this so well, you know how it was with me…”

“It’s harder for some people. Right now, the only thing keeping up my spirits up is that they are in a better place, better and carefree.” Akira paused, and looked out of the window for a second.

“Things will get better. I feel like maybe this was supposed to happen, so, I just have to go with the flow of things.”

“And you have a sister willing to help you through it too. I didn’t have anyone like you or anyone else to help me get out of that slump. Even Sojiro let me be and I found myself sinking deeper into that deep dark and agonizing depression. If you wouldn’t have helped me sooner… I would’ve…” Akira went in for a hug, catching Futaba by surprise. 

“It’s okay. We’ll be here for each other.” She put her arms around him, feeling the warmth of his hug and clung onto him, savoring every single moment. “How about we go get some ice cream?”

“That sounds good," she gave him a sad smile as he wiped off her tears and walked her out the door.

**Evening**

The sweet taste of a chocolate gelato ice cream brought her to a happier place. But what made her feel even better was that there was someone there to keep her company. For the longest time she felt alone in the world, now she had a brother to keep her safe.


	18. 8/27

**Morning**

“Sojiro told me the funerals tomorrow and we’re heading out tonight. Are you ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Akira had just hung up tux on the dresser that morning.

“I don’t know if I am though… I haven’t been to one since my Moms funeral.”

“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. You can stay here,” he said.

“No. I think doing this is something I need to do. Besides, I know you’re hurting too.” Futaba said. “Please be open with me, I’ve learned that harboring feelings will make it worse the hard way.”

For the first time, Akira felt like a little child. “I don’t know how to say what I’m feeling." He admitted it. "You don't need to worry about me. I'm fine." 

“It’s okay, it’s just I can see that there’s sadness in your face and I haven’t really heard you concentrate it on anything besides your parents. I understand if you're angry at them for leaving you so soon. We don’t have to talk about it now, but when you are ready, let me hear you out. it’s the least I can do.” She gave him a pat on the back. "I know I did," she said and left his room. 

**Evening**

The Phantom thieves arrived at his house after school with their suitcases in hand. Tonight they were leaving Tokyo and going to Inaba. Sojiro got them a big that managed to fit all of them in there with just enough room for the suitcase. One after another, they piled inside. Akira sat up front, near Sojiro. He booted up the car as they pulled off and started getting on the road.

Akira slumped back in his seat, with Ryuji holding his limp hand as they entered the highway. They had at least an hour or two of driving before they were anywhere near the shrine that Hikaru had settled on.

He didn't mind. At least he had the comfort of his friends to surround him with love and support.

**Night**

Akira crashed into bed as soon as they booked the room for the night. Ryuji did the same, mimicking him, raising his arms as he collapsed into the soft bed beside him. Akira had to prepare himself but didn't know if he could. He would have to face his entire relatives. The ones who refused to take him after his own parents passed. They showed their true colors. He just hoped that there wouldn't be a scene, but he knew if he wished it didn't happen, it would happen. So, he just had to go with the flow and try to be nice. Ryuji knew he was thinking about lots of things that night, as he lay next to him with his eyes still open in the darkness. He cuddled him in hopes that that would make him feel better. But even he could hear him try to hold back the tears as he sobbed into his shirt. Their strong leader was crumbling.


	19. 8/28

**Early Morning**

Akira breathed in a heavy sigh that morning as he stared up at the ceiling. Today was the funeral. Ryuji held his hand and sat up with him. “You got this, Aki,” Ryuji whispered, holding him close. Once they all got dressed they headed out to the shrine. 

**Morning**

Hikaru stared at Akira surrounded by his friends as they stood at the entrance. He walked towards the shrine, looking him directly in the face as he entered inside. He could see the caskets all the way from the entrance with white covering them to ward off the evil spirits.

He was surprised to see his brother coming towards him, pushing some of the condolence envelopes begrudgingly onto him without saying a word. 

They all stood in rows, waiting for the priest to start their sutras and give his parents a new name. During the whole entire thing Akira felt numb to every single emotion. It was bittersweet. He grew up with such wonderful parents and then in the last few years they’d changed so much that he wasn’t sure if that was really them anymore.

“Akira handed the priest the three incense to ensure their passing. When they were done they all went towards the casket and placed some daffodils as they carried the casket away.

He could see everyone wasn’t even looking him in the eyes, like he was lower than them. Akira grabbed Ryuji’s hand. He didn’t give a shit anymore. They already thought of him as the lowest. Might as well go out, being his true self. They all stuck by him standing tall. 

“Well, I guess someone decided to take you in after all, brother.” Hikaru gave a meager smile. 

“Yes, they’re more of my family than you ever were. What happened to you? We had such a good relationship back then?”

“The home they have will never be as nice as ours, and you were the one that ruined your own life. I don’t want any part of that.” He stuck up his nose at everyone.

“I don’t need a nice and fancy house or expensive clothes. I’d rather earn it out of hard work to provide for myself rather than have it given to me out some privileged persons ass!” He yelled at him.

“Those condolence money will be the last thing they ever give you. That was the last thing they wanted in their will. Out of my finally respect for them I did honor their promise. Half to go to you, and the rest of everything left for me. So, enjoy your precious family,” He sniveled, walking off.

“I will,” Akira nodded firmly. Sojiro was was disgusted by his words. How childish he had become.

“I thought your Mother would’ve taught you compassion. Looks like your parents know what you’ve chosen…” Sojiro gestured for Akira to head on out. He was right behind him. 

Akira looked at Hikaru one last time, seeing him stand there all by himself near his parents casket, clenching his fists. 

—-

“He looked so much like you…” Makoto said once they got in the car.

“The difference was uncanny. He looked like a rich kid version of you…” Yusuke pointed out.

“The thing is I could’ve become just like that if I didn’t land myself on probation. I think it was fate that helped me. If I continued, I wouldn’t have been able to meet you guys, or learn how nice it is to have friends like you. I would’ve been just like that, given enough time…” 

“Yeah, that kind of environment would get to you eventually. I’m glad we got to meet you and become friends though.” Ann tried to cheer him up.

Akira looked back at Futaba, “Did you do alright?” He asked.

“Yeah, I did. I was more mad for you, because I can’t believe your bro would do evil villain monologue like that right at a funeral...”

“He’s definitely gotten worse.” Akira pointed out. “He wouldn’t even give me a hug or even think of me as anyone lower than him. I don’t know how he’s gonna survive in this world...”

“I don’t know either, but we should just plan on heading on home when we get back,” Sojiro suggested.

“You said it. Let’s get on home.”

When he got to the hotel he wanted to give back the money for condolences, but it would be impolite not to take it. It was custom for the ceremony. Akira just looked at the black and white roped envelopes and handed them to Sojiro. He knew he’d need it more than him with a new son to feed, Sojiro still felt disgusted by how everything went down. “I feel bad just taking this. You parents wanted you to have it.”

“You deserve some extra money. I’m fine.” Akira smiled at him.

Sojiro took the money. He’d use it to pay for gas on the way home with plenty of extra to help keep Leblanc running. Akira felt emotionally exhausted as they drove home.


	20. 8/30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited 3/4/2019 to make the chapter run more smoothly.

**After School**

Akira felt only a little relief as he slept the next day. He felt this emptiness in his heart that wouldn’t leave him. Morgana sat beside him and could feel how emotionally drained he was.

Sojiro had already called the school again and asked for another day, staying home from school.

“You alright, Akira?” He asked, pawing at his hand.

“No... Well...” He thought about it for a moment. “I don’t know if I feel alright.”

In a way, he felt a little bit angry at the world. How could something do this? He slammed his fist on the side of his bed and pulled back, looking at the big indent he made. 

Akira turned over in his bed, curling up in the covers. He didn’t feel like getting out of his room today. 

The door slowly creaked open with Ryuji coming in to sit by him. “That funeral sucked ass man.” He patted his back. 

“Yeah it did, but is it wrong to say I’m kinda grateful that this happened?”

Ryuji cocked his head. “How so?”

“It certainly put some things into perspective. I mean, I was gonna stay here for a year, and have to go back, but now, I get to be with you guys here in Tokyo, with a great Dad, a sister, and boyfriend. We don’t have to be in a long distance relationship.”

“I guess it isn’t wrong for you to be happy about that happenin’. I’m really happy that I get to be with you longer now too, Aki.” Ryuji smiled at him. “I’m glad you’re away from that family. They were assholes, and you deserve better.” Akira needed to hear that. He pulled him in closer, and kissed his sweet lips, as Ryuji tussled Akira's perfect hair.

Ryuji helped bring him downstairs, he needed to get some food in him. He hasn’t eaten all morning. Sojiro gestured them out the door with his eyes. Getting out for a little bit would help him feel better. “Let’s get you outta this house. You need some fresh air. We can’t have you be all mopey ‘an shit. Wanna go out for a jog? I know that always helps me get out of a funk.”

Ryuji gave him his brightest smile. How could he refuse that? Akira chuckled, “Yeah. That sounds good.” Akira started to head to the station, but Ryuji grabbed his shoulder before he was about to step foot outside. 

“We're not going to the park yet. I'm takin’ you out for some food today, my treat to you,” he put his arm around Akira and walked they walked together to the station.

\---

The buffet was out of the question. The rotten adults had already infested that place enough. “Let’s go get some ramen,” Akira said as the train chugged to a stop. 

“You sure? We can go somewhere else if you like.”

“Yeah, I’m craving some noodles,” Akira assured him. They just walked in and sat at the booths next to each other and the noodles were brought over to him. Ryuji was like a regular there. They knew he always ordered the ramen with tons of ginger, meat and vegetables. 

Akira's arrived moments later with regular ramen as Ryuji put some ginger into his bowl. He was beginning to like the flavor it gave. Ryuji as loud as he could, Akira looked back at him smiling. "I think the first time I realized I loved you was at this ramen restaurant," he admitted. "You were smilin' and it seemed like the whole entire world was perfect in that moment." 

"I remembered that. You were giving me a speech on how much you liked ramen."

"A-n-a-l-o-g-y," Ryuji said simply.

"So you like me like you like your ramen?"

Ryuji almost did a spit-take. "Not like that dude! But I mean if you wanna-" he stuttered. "I'm ready for us to take it to the next level if you want to."

Akira burst out laughing, "Of course, Ryuji. I've been waiting to ask you that question."

"Oh; how long?" Ryuji asked, worrying if he was already being too slow.

"Since last week, but it wasn't a good time."

"Whew! I'm right on time then," Ryuji felt relieved.

"Get a room, you two, I can feel your gay energy right here!" Morgana complained from his bag.

The couple nearly keeled over dying of laughter, crying into each other's shoulders. "Morgana you sneaky lil shit."

"I just wanted to go outside and get a meal. Now I have to deal with listening to your bromance?! I just wanted food..." he complained.

"We'll get you somethin' soon, so calm down cat. I just wanna finish my bowl..." Ryuji sighed heavily.

The last place they stopped at was a sushi bar, then headed on home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These adorable fluffy boys. I wish I could be that fluffy more often. But what's in store is some fluff and pain.


	21. 9/1

**After School**

Akira tried his best to return to normalcy after yesterday. As he started to head home Mishima informed them that there was another mementos mission to go to.

Akira vented out all his frustration at every enemy, every single move he sent forth, his new Phantom Thief outfit radiated with his hatred.

Yes, use your power to strike your foes. He could practically hear in his head. When they returned home, all they could do is stare at his Phantom Thief outfit.

“What is going on, Morgana?” Ann asked him.

“For once, I don’t know… He should’ve changed back by now…” 

“Try taking the outfit off,” Makoto said. She looked for a zipper, but couldn’t find anything. When Akira tried unbuttoning his shirt, it would magically snap back in place.

But as suddenly as it happened his outfit began to fizzle and fall like burning ashes, disappearing to the floor.

“That was weird...” Futaba said.

“Yeah... We better keep an eye on that.” Akira didn’t know what the heck was going on. Why was his outfit starting to act like that now?

Akira tried relax that night, but he felt uneasy as he closed his eyes.

**9/2**

Akira found himself on the cold hard floor this morning. He didn’t know how long he’d been stuck in that position, but it was long enough for him to feel sore all over. He groaned while trying to get to his feet. That’s when he noticed his crimson pants. He didn’t go to sleep wearing anything red.

He went straight to a mirror nearby and saw the very familiar clothes of his Persona on him. “What the?!” He was puzzled. He hadn’t gone into the Metaverse since that weird thing happened with his outfit yesterday. So why was it on him now, and outside in the real world? And to top it off, long raven-colored wings were protruding from his back. They went loomed over his head like an umbrella. Akira hoped he was in a dream. This couldn't possibly be him. He screamed, hoping it would wake himself up from this nightmare.

“Akira!” he heard a familiar voice call. He heard the rush of footsteps as his door burst open with the gang rushing to him. "Are you alright?" She asked.

"I don't know..." was all he could say. But then he realized why were they all here at his house?

"We wanted to make sure you were alright," Ann told him, trying to comfort him. "Sojiro was making us breakfast downstairs."

"I'm glad we came to check up on you. This isn't right. Somethings going on..." Makoto didn't know what to make of it, and neither did Morgana. “Do you know how long you've been like that?”

“I woke up like this. So, I don't know how long it's been…”

“It's worse this time. Last time you didn't have these…” Akira could feel her soft hands fumble his new-found protrusions. 

Akira shivered, sensitive to even the slightest touch. If felt weird to suddenly have new appendages.

"It's like you're some huge scientific hybrid..." Futaba pointed it out. "I think I read a book like that once. Or better yet like some kind of fallen angel..."

"The wings do give that kind of quality, don't they?" Yusuke asked, framing Akira.

“You’re looking more and more like your persona…” Makoto just shook her head with worry.

“I just want to change back,” Akira growled, straightening his arms down and gritting his teeth. “What am I going to do? I can’t go out anywhere looking like this. I’ll be like the biggest target in all of Tokyo.”

“We’ll stay here, we’re gonna make sure you’re alright, dude.” Ryuji sat next to him and tried to bring his arm around him, “But your wings are kinda crushin’ the mood…” He wrung his arms around his neck.

“We should think of the possibility that you aren’t changing back. You should’ve been back to normal by now. We haven't been in there since yesterday."

“I know, I’m just hoping this’ll change back eventually, but what can I do? The Metaverse definitely has something to do with this.” 

“That’s what I was suspecting,” Makoto pondered aloud, “but why is it only happening to you? And not us as well? Until this weirdness stops, I think you should stay out of the Metaverse. Whatever it was, it kept reacting when we were in that world. That's what caused you to change in the first place." The Phantom thieves agreed. "And I think we should let the Boss know what’s going on. Have you told him about anything, what we do?” Makoto asked.

“No,” Akira looked away. “I know he’s gonna find out eventually.”

“He’s a nice man, better than the people with distorted desires. He's one of the better adults that deserves to know what’s going on with you, now that this,” she gestured to him, “has gotten a little out of hand, and he’s your Dad now. You can’t shut him out of your problems. Especially not this, not when it's affecting your life.” 

“Is he still downstairs?” Akira asked.

"Yes, he's just sitting on the couch doing crosswords puzzles.”

“I’ll get him,” Futaba rushed downstairs. “Dad, we need you!"

“Is Akira alright? Have you guys got things under control?" His voice tinged with slight worry. "F-Futaba! What's the meaning of this?!” He heard his voice echo downstairs. Futaba had her in his hands when she brought him up.

He took one look at Akira, with his wings sunken as he tried to avoid his face. “What's with the outfit? Are you planning on going to a convention or something?” Sojiro felt the real-ness of his feathers and pulled back shocked. "What did you do?" He asked.

"I didn't do anything," Akira replied.

"If this is a prank, stop it. I can't believe you got them in on it too." Sojiro yanked at his wings, Akira hissed and clawed at him angrily, his eyes flaring crimson. 

“That hurt, you know.” He gritted his teeth. "I wasn't kidding. Those wings are a part of me."

“What happened to you?” Sojiro asked.

“We don’t know, this has happened before, but he changed back to normal, but this time it’s gotten worse with his wings now,” Makoto explained.

“Happened before? When?”

“We’ve been going into an alternate universe where people’s minds can be affected by taking down their distorted desires. We went there yesterday and he almost came back like that, except his outfit disappeared, and then _that_ happened this morning.” Futaba explained, “I’m sorry we didn’t tell you before, but we've been doing stuff as the Phantom Thieves.” Futaba looked down at the floor and fiddled with her thumbs.

“So that's where you guys have been going all this time? This isn’t normal. You’ve been getting him involved in stuff, when he should be laying low. He still has a criminal record against him!” He criticized them.

“I was the one that started it,” Akira admitted. “I was the one to get them involved in all of this, don’t blame them.”

“Akira…” Sojiro raised a scolding finger at him. He let out a resounding sigh and shook his head. “What are we gonna do about school? He can’t go looking like that…”

“I have a teacher, who can help,” Akira assured him. "She'll do me a solid and make sure I'm accounted for."

“I’m willing to pick up his homework for him,” Ann raised his hand. "I've done it before."

“You realize this is even worse than your probation. At least then, you could go out, but now I’m afraid you’ll be under house arrest. I can’t let anyone see you like this, you understand, right?”

“Unless we go to the Akihabara district!" Futaba pointed out. "There are tons of cosplayers over there.”

Akira's eyes perked up, “At least let me have a last hurrah before I have to stay in the house, that's all I ask," Akira pleaded.

"That would be fun for him, I always like playin' the video games over there.” Ryuji looked at him and grinned, taking his hand.

He knew he couldn't argue with him, he had to let him be a kid one last time. “Fine, take him to the district... just make sure no one makes fun of him.”

“I don’t think they will, but we’ll all be there for him,” Ann assured him.

“Yes, that will be the only place you're allowed to go until this thing sorts itself out. I’ll see you guys this evening, be careful.”

They all waved him off, as Futaba closed the door as they all headed out.

**Noon**

“Let us be thankful for this cool weather, I know I’d be sweating in a suit,” Yusuke admitted. 

“I would be too, that’s for sure. You keepin' cool Aki?” Ryuji asked, slowing down to walk beside him.

“Yeah, the fall weather sure helps.” Akira stretched his arms, his wings followed, stretching out with a gust of wind knocking them all back. "Sorry," he apologized. "I don't know how these wings work."

“With wings as strong as that, you could really fly," Makoto said with curiosity. "I wonder how fast you could go."

“Oh, that’d be so cool!” Ryuji glowed. “I always wanted to go see what else’s outside a’ Tokyo.”

“Ah, you want to see the world, Ryuji?" Makoto asked, surprised. 

"Yeah. there are tons of place I'd love to see outside a' Japan. I haven't really got to travel besides that Hawaii trip the school is plannin-" Makoto jerked at his arm.

"Oh yeah... You guys are gonna be going without me..." Akira realized.

"I'll call you every single day. I don't care how late it is, we'll make sure to call you and make sure you're not lonely as much as I can. It's gonna suck without you." Ryuji tried to comfort him.

"Thank you, but you don't have to call me. I'll be fine."

"I'm gonna call you every single day," Ryuji promised. As they waited at the train stop, there was a crowd beginning to form.

"Try to lay low, or seem like you’re cosplaying, everyone's staring.”

Akira gave them peace signs with the most non-fazed look while saying, “Kawaii de shou na?”

“That was such an otaku mood,” Futaba laughed. “Now, you have to buy some figurines and anime t-shirts.”

“And get some ramen,” Ryuji slapped his hands together, prepared to get some noodles.

“Yup! We’ll get some at the nearby ramen place in Akihabara.” Ann leaned closer to Ryuji, “I know it’s not you’re favorite one, but it’s what we have for now.”

“That’s fine, I just want some food,” Ryuji slouched his back and evening his pace alongside Akira. 

“Ryuji, why aren’t you doing this “cosplay” as well?” Yusuke asked as they boarded the train. 

“Oh. Shit, I didn’t even think a’ that!” Ryuji went wide-eyed. “Uh… Ann… This is your department…” 

Ann clapped her hands excitedly, “Yay! I’ll make you look like the most cutest cosplay couple ever!”

“I don’t wanna be cute…” Ryuji whined. 

“Do it for your boyfriend…” Ann tilted her head innocently to pat him on the head. 

“You just wanna do it for your own ‘musement, don’t you?” Ryuji was already trying to figure out her plan.

Ann replied “No,” as she looked the other way, smirking.

When they got there, they entered in Akihabara Ramen. No one seemed to bat an eye at his cosplay in this district. Desensitized, they all seemed to slurp away at their noodles as normal.

“I hear tons of Ryuji’s…” Ann sang playfully.

“Yeah, the sounds are uncanny...” Makoto pointed out. 

“I’m looking forward to doing something fun for the day. We rarely get to go out as a group together besides on missions or celebrations.” Yusuke welcomed the opportunity. 

“Oh yeah, that’s true! We are usually so busy with our jobs we never get to be together all at once, like only for celebrations and special occasions. It feels nice though, we should do it more often," Ann said.

“Yeah, I would love to do this more,” Makoto smiled.

“So, arcade first or cosplay?” Ann suggested.

“Cosplay store!” The girls all chimed, leaning closer to Ryuji. “You’re going to be a wonderful Tuxedo Mask.”

“Nuh uh. Hell no! I don’t wanna wear no suit!”

“I’ve always wanted to see how you look in a suit,” Akira looked at him with his dreamy eyes, batting them innocently, while having the suavest smirk on his face.

“You’re lucky you’re cute,” Ryuji gave him a kiss before he reluctantly followed the girls into the cosplay store up ahead. 

**Afternoon**

Akira and Yusuke patiently waited outside for them to return. 20 minutes went by before Ryuji came out, wearing a similar outfit to Akira's Joker outfit, but with more of a fancy dinner party kind of outfit with a black cape and crimson underneath.

“How can you wear this all the time in the palaces?” Ryuji complained, he was already sweating hard in his cosplay.

“Our outfits are special in the metaverse. In there, we are able to stand the heat better with those clothes than with our normal ones. However, this isn’t the Metaverse, but my outfit is still functioning as if I was in there, so I’m perfectly fine,” Akira teased him and not a sweat beading down from his face. "You look good with black hair," He smiled, looking at him with the wig, giving him a quick kiss.

“Come on, lovebirds, we’ve got some video games to play.” Ann started to pull Akira and Ryuji both into the gaming complex. 

“What shall we do first?” Yusuke looked around.

“Oooh, got dibs on Taiko…” Futaba made some grabby hands as she gravitated to the rhythm games section. “You’re coming with me Inari. I shall teach you the way of my mad rhythm gaming skills!”

“How does one have 'mad gaming skills'?" Yusuke cocked his head in confusion.

“Just follow my lead!” Futaba inserted some yen and drummed on her taiko. “Now you drum on yours. It’s multiplayer.” The team gathered around them. Yusuke picked up his sticks in confusion, but just followed her lead. She added in some more for him and they started to look around for songs. “The blue circles you hit on the edge, the red in the middle. You have to hit it right as it lines up with the white circle in rhythm with the song. Simple enough?”

“Yes, I shall take you on! Head forth into battle!” Yusuke raised his stick at the screen with confidence. 

Yusuke starts off on normal, with light, puny hits, but eventually finds his voice and hits harder. At the end he’s brought himself to passing with a high combo. “You did good for a first-timer,” Futaba congratulates him.

“A worthy opponent. We can get a little bit faster though, the rhythm was slow on that one.”

“Ah, getting feisty now, aren’t we? Let’s try hard mode then,” Futaba laughed evilly, looking for a faster song.

For a first timer Yusuke unsurprisingly didn’t have bad hand-eye coordination. Futaba would never admit it, but he was actually better than the so-called pro of rhythm games. They all played one after another and then moved on to a dancing game.

Akira suavely began to pick a duet song to dance to with Ryuji and set it on master. “Now, we have to do it exactly like on screen, or we won’t get the points,” Akira grinned.

“I’m not that good at dancin’,” he tried to whisper in his ears, but the dance had started with Akira taking his hand, pulling him close. Ryuji fell into his arms as he looked up into Akira’s eyes. The raven-haired boy spun him back as they switched sides, twirling to the other side.

“What lovebirds…” Ann cooed as they continued their dance.

“You can see the passion so clearly. I wished I would have brought my sketch pad. It’s so inspiring…” Yusuke tried to envision their passion in his mind. By then, he noticed they had a small gathering, just watching them go at the songs. They were both smiling at each other, having fun as they finished the final move with the crowd clapping for them simultaneously.

“Whew! I’m beat!” Ryuji wiped the sweat off his forehead. “Let’s get some grub!”

“Let’s eat here,” Makoto said, gesturing with her eyes over to the food counter.

“And why don’t we do some karaoke as well?” Ann asked. 

**Evening**

“That sounds like fun. Let’s do it!” Futaba was ahead of them searching for a room.

They went on in with some food. as they all got some soda's to keep themselves awake as they sung together having fun.

**9/3**

Akira returned home with Futaba, exhausted and headed upstairs to bed. He jumped into his bed, only for him to forget that he still had these large extrusions still on his back. “GAH!” He turned over quickly, muffling his scream into his pillow. He tried to get sleep, but he found he couldn't get himself to sleep that night. He wasn't used to sleeping on his face. He headed downstairs to get himself a small snack before trying to go to sleep again. It seemed like the whole world was asleep. He looked at the clock in the living room. One a.m. in the morning. Akira took a step outside to get some fresh air. Even the neighborhood was dead. No sounds were in the distance.

Akira stretched his wings and felt like he could take off. He moved his wings, practicing how strong they could be and gave himself a small burst as he took off into the air, and perched himself on top of the house. 

He really was like a big winged bird. “It feels good to finally feel in control, doesn’t it?” He heard Arsene speak to him. “You ravished in that sense of freedom, did you not?”

“I did, i- it felt amazing.” Akira agreed with him. "So, where have you been?"

"I've been with you this entire time. You may have noticed, but we've become a lot alike, you and me."

"So this is normal?"

"Yes, we've become more in tune with each other. Although the Metaverse has weird ways of dealing with it. That's why you're looking like that, right now."

"So, will I change back eventually?"

"Yes, you should relish in the freedom you are given. you only got a taste of it, why not fly high to your heart’s content, and enjoy the night like anyone would if they had the chance?”

“I have a criminal record, I can’t let anyone see me,” Akira cowered.

“You are a Legendary Phantom Thief now, no one can catch you." Arsene said simply. "The world is at your fingertips.”

“Yeah, you know what? I’m gonna enjoy it.” Akira soared into the air and flew off. They wouldn’t know what occurred that night. He was going to live in the moment. Akira was finally going to have that freedom he desired.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Futaba's references in 9/2:
> 
> scientific hybrid: Maximum Ride
> 
> Fallen angel: Hush Hush
> 
> Yes, Futaba won't admit she had a supernatural phase when she was younger. That's something that's best left in the past...
> 
> And the dance that I imagined Akira and Ryuji dancing to would probably would be this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M-6ygG-bf4


	22. 9/3

**Early Morning**

Akira returned before anyone had noticed he was gone. That morning left him cranky. When he came downstairs he told Sojiro he didn’t sleep at all last night, which was the truth, but still lied to his face. 

“Those wings of your must feel pretty weird. Do you wanna head back up?” Sojiro asked. "You don't have school until this weird ordeal settles itself out."

“Hopefully it will. For now, I think I’ll sleep for a bit and lay low, I guess.” Akira yawned with his tired eyes and left just as soon as Futaba hit the first floor. 

“He didn’t get any sleep at all,” Sojiro said as he slipped on his apron. “Will you check up on him in a few hours?” He asked as he was about to head out to Leblanc.

“Yup!” Futaba nodded, as she set down her laptop at the table. Futaba took a look back at Akira's case, trying to figure out what else was due to their suspicious untimely demise. All of it felt too weird, perhaps something from the Metaverse had something to do with it, maybe it also had something to do with Akira's weird changes in the real world. It was just a theory she had to go on. She looked back at the clock and noticed how much she'd been thinking as she looked all over the internet for answers, but things were really tough for her to figure out on her own. There was almost no evidence of his parents at all. Only the certificates of their death and that still gave no answers. Futaba shifted from her seat, and headed up to Akira's room, knocking on her door, before entering. Akira was still asleep, sleeping on his side, wings spread out, with Morgana cuddled up in his arms. 

She decided that it was time for his nap to be over, she lightly booped his nose to cause a reaction. Akira yawned, opening his tired eyes to Futaba.

“Uh… Akira… It’s gotten worse… This is bad…” Futaba’s voice croaked with fear.

Akira growled, “This was something I did not need today…” Akira sighed frustrated with himself. “Just give it to me straight…” he grumbled. Someone already was in a bad funk this morning.

“Eyes…” was all Futaba could say.

“Great… Have you found _anything_ about what might be causing this?” He said impatiently. He looked back at her, noticing he upset her. 

"No, I haven't found anything..."

"Then you're not looking hard enough!" He yelled at her. “I’m sorr-“ He reached out to her before he could say anything else she immediately stormed out of the room, slamming his door. 

“Gah!” Akira clawed his head. “I can’t seem to do anything right today… Morgana, what is wrong with me? I can’t seem to control myself…”

“Try to take some deep breaths, calm yourself down. Help clear your head, you can’t think straight when you're angry," Morgana assured him.

“You’re right, I just need some time to clear my head, and then go apologize.” This sudden kind of anger was unexpected from such a composed person like Akira.

Akira headed off to the bathroom, cleaned his face and brushed his hair. He felt only somewhat relieved, but he still looked in the mirror and all he could see was those crimson eyes staring at him like daggers. He punched the mirror, disgusted by his piercing eyes. Arsene lied to him. It wasn't getting better, it was getting worse.

“What was that?” Futaba’s muffled voice yelled from her room. Akira covered his bloody fist and quickly ran back to his room.

**After School**

Ryuji would be here soon, Akira looked back at his clock, schools already been out for thirty minutes. He was already anticipating just being able to talk to someone. He just couldn’t bring himself to apologize to Futaba yet, his sudden anger still slightly lingered. No matter how many deep breaths, he still felt mad at himself for being so stupid and making those idiotic outbursts. Futaba was only doing the best she could. If she could figure things out faster, she would’ve found out how to fix it. He knew she was an expert at stuff like that, but why couldn't he bring himself to be kind to her?

The was a soft knock at the door, he turned away from the door, silent. “You feeling alright, kiddo?” Sojiro’s voice called. Hearing his voice just made feel even worse. “Futaba told me to check up on you.” The door creaked open as he entered the room. 

“Did you close early?” He asked, not meeting his face.

“Yeah, but a little while ago, Futaba called me. She was worried about you, she told me you broke a mirror. So, tell me, what was that all about?”

“Things are just getting worse.” He turned to face him, looking down at the floor.

“Your eyes were like that when I accidentally hurt you the first time I saw you like that.”

“They did? I didn’t even know…” Akira felt even worse. 

“I think I know why you’re angry though. You didn’t really get any time to cope with your family's death. At the funeral, I didn’t even see you shed a tear or anything, I think now, it’s just getting to you that they are gone. So, it’s alright to feel angry about it. Do you want to talk about it?” Sojiro asked.

“I think you may be right. Just sitting in here is giving me some time to think. I already need some time to go outside. I need to do something, keep my mind busy. Right now, I'm worried about this more than anything.”

“Too bad it isn’t October yet. With a costume like that you could’ve worked at Leblanc for the month. Until whatever this is, sorts it’s way out, I think you should go see that doctor, she’s dealt with that place when you got hurt a while back.”

“I better see her again, I haven't checked up with her in a while. If my friends come back to tell them to wait for me by the clinic. I’ll need someone to keep things hush, y’know?” Sojiro simply nodded. "And when you're ready. Please don't be afraid to come and talk to me. This is something that'll help you idealize why you feel how you feel."

Akira nodded and stood up, heading downstairs as he hastily made his way to the clinic, watching out for any onlookers on the streets. Luckily this place wasn’t busy till later in the day. People hadn’t even started home from work.

Akira did not want to deal with his parent's deaths now. This Metaverse stuff was something he thought he should deal with right now.

The clinic was empty today, Tae Takemi took one look at him and stared for a long minute before quickly taking him into the examination room. “We need to take another sample. The sample from before was not as bad as this. Whatever it was that scratched you a while back has mutated. It’s done more than just that.” She straightened his arm as she pulled out a needle. "You drank plenty of water, today, right?" he nodded. “Keep your arm just like that and it won’t hurt as much tomorrow.” Akira felt a tiny prick as Tae collected his blood, waiting for it all to settle into the tube. Once she was done, she took a look back at his scar, it had healed and almost looked perfect, except scars like from what he had before would never heal back like that. like it never happened. Instead, a tiny red dot was left in its place, but she could see his veins pulsating unnaturally.

After a few minutes of looking under her microscope her face had gone pale.

“That creature did something I’ve never seen. It’s changing the structure of your entire DNA.” Tae looked flabberghasted. 

“My DNA? So, that’s why I’m looking like this? Can’t you do anything to stop this?” He asked, his voice starting to rise with anger.

“That would mean going back into your DNA and restructuring it back to a more human form. Unfortunately, that kind of stuff is only in the early stages of production. I can’t get my hands on any of that kind of machinery." She hated to tell this to her guinea pig. The one that was able to help her save so many people. It was almost ironic for this to be one of the cases that she couldn't find a cure for. "I-I-I can’t fix you… If my medicine isn’t working, that was the strongest stuff I had…” Even Tae was distraught by this, he’d never seen her this unconfident of her abilities. Hearing her say those words made it all too real for him.

“There has to be a way to change me back!” He cried at her, pleading for a response. There really wasn’t anything that could fix the situation. Tae simply shook her head, and Akira turned away from her and headed out, leaving her standing just as speechless as he was. He slammed the door, only to see his friends waiting in the clinic room for him. Ryuji was the first one to come and hold onto him, and comfort him as Akira just immediately came to cry onto his shoulder the entire way home.

**9/4**

**Early Morning**

Akira had already begun to fallen into his own little slump. He didn't care about school anymore. What was the point? All his hard work on laying low was put to shame. How he looked was going to stay, and there was nothing he could do. The finality of it all hit him like a ton of bricks. He stayed in his room the entire day, cradling himself in his soggy sheets.

Morgana had disappeared off to who knows where, and left him alone to sulk.

Futaba had enough of his pity party, she burst into the room and pulled his sheet off. Akira went limp and sighed. “What do you want?” He sounded like he was giving up on life. Futaba had enough of his pity party and went up to him and slapped him across the face.

That struck a chord in him. He took her hand with an iron grip. "You want to do that again?" he taunted at her, almost relishing in how she squirmed in her hands. She looked at him and felt no warmth in his eyes.

"Akira... What's going on with you?" She cried, he didn't even feel like Akira. Almost overnight, he'd become someone completely different. "I'm fine. Someone just decided to slap their own brother. How stupid can you be?"

He suddenly let her go. "Be that way. I don't even want a sister like you," she took her chance to leave the room. Something was wrong. This wasn't Akira. 

That would be the last time he would hear from his friends.

**9/15**

The team had started to leave Akira out of things. They kept secrets. Even when he knew they returned from the Hawaii trip, he was left out of the loop. He tried texting them, but Futaba immediately blocked him out of the group chats.

Fine. Be that way.

**9/27**

The team didn’t want to take any chances and went on without Akira. In his condition, they didn’t want to take any chances. They noticed how much he changed when they went into mementos or even when fighting enemies. They felt bad, completing it all behind his back, though. He was their leader, and doing something like that was just something they never thought they’d do. Makoto thought it was best. Returning from finishing the palace was a relief. They didn’t have to keep it a secret any longer. Haru had joined them as a member, with Makoto taking place as leader for the time being. But that also unknowingly tore at Akira’s heart knowing that they were doing stuff behind his back. 

He burrowed his feelings into his mind, holding them back. This was fine. This was fine. He clenched the side of his bed, hearing a satisfying crunch as it caved over breaking like nothing. Akira looked at his hands again, noticing the palms of his hands had turned completely char black. It almost seemed to stretch across his fingertips like as if he painted them that way. His sharp fingertips were stronger than concrete, and he felt immortal, like the world owed him everything for his pain and suffering.

Akira waited until his heartfelt no more need for friends like his. It was already beginning to weigh since Futaba's stupid stunt. 

Sojiro left him to be, like he did with his daughter. Even his own stupid cat had disappeared, leaving him to think about everything. Thinking about everything was irrelevant. It made his mind go numb with only anger. All he could feel was hatred for his family and friends. Why had they left him out of everything? Why were they torturing him with all the secrets he's heard around?

So, with the last of his hope, he tried calling someone who would understand and be considerate of him. Someone who showed genuine interest in him. Someone by the name of Goro Akechi. 

**10/11**

**After school**

Ryuji went straight to Akira’s to check up on him. But he found an unfamiliar bicycle sitting near the place. He ignored it, going past the gate and knocking on the door. He could hear Akira’s infectious laughter, but someone else was there with him. It wasn’t Sojiro, that’s for sure. He was at Leblanc, managing it. The door creaked open with Akira’s piercing red eyes, “Ryuji?” He looked at him, he had gotten worse within the past few days. He hid his long piercing claws behind the door, afraid for them to be seen. He was surprised to find Goro Akechi being the one opening the door for him.

“Oh, hello Ryuji, come on in,” he said with his sickeningly sweet voice. Of all the people in the world, Akira was relying on HIM more than his own boyfriend? Ryuji held back his frustration a bit. _Let’s give ‘em the benefit of the doubt_ , he thought in his head. 

“I’m sorry to intrude on a day like this, Akira wanted some company. You guys seemed to vanish after school was over,” Goro informed them, almost like he was telling him to his face how bad of a friend he was.

"Hey, Akira. Can I come inside?" Akira turned his head at him. "I'm sorry about not talking to you for a while."

"No. I don't want you in here," he growled at him.

"I can talk to you if you'd like," Goro smiled at him with his stupid face, almost guarding the door. 

"No thanks, I wanna to talk in person with Akira." Ryuji tried to walk in the door, but he wasn't budging.

"So, some Metaverse, stuff?" Goro inquired.

“You know about that?”

"He told me a lot of things while you ignored him. I think he prefers me more than you right now, and you're like a trigger for his anger. He was just fine a few minutes ago, without you here." He gripped the door tightly.

"Why would he trust you more than me? I'm his boyfriend."

“He was quite lonely all that time. Being cooped up inside for almost a month has really taken a toll on him, can’t you see?”

He looked at Akira, who sat on the couch, not glancing in his direction. He looked at his pale skin, deprived of sunlight, his whole demeanor reminded him of a sad puppy. The curtains were drawn and the house was dark. 

“Akira… I’m sorry, but if people saw you out there, they’d be kinda freaked out.”

“Do I look like that much of a monster to you guys?” He covered his eyes, biting his lip. “Just leave, I don’t want you here. You can’t even be honest with me about going to the Metaverse behind my back!” He yelled at him, swiping at him. “You deserted me when I became like this, why? Why would you make me suffer?!” His voice getting louder.

"I'm sorry, but Futaba wanted us to stay out of it until things settled down."

“So it was Futaba. Of course, it'd be that idiots stupid stunt." He got out of his seat. "At least you had connections. You were with the other Phantom Thieves. At least you got to communicate with them. WHILE I WAS HERE ALL. BY. MYSELF. YOU LEFT ME HERE ALL ALONE FOR ALMOST A MONTH AND OUT OF THE LOOP OF EVERYTHING!!! I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOUR STUPID ASS HERE, EVER AGAIN. WE'RE THROUGH!” Akechi tried his best to hold him back as he let Ryuji exit out the door.

“It’s okay Akira…” Goro held him as he sobbed into his detective uniform. “I don’t care about what you look like. I’ll be a better boyfriend to you than he ever was.” He kissed him, helping him calm down. Something about him did help with the loneliness he felt. The rest of his friends just made him want to scream.

“Thank you for spending time with me Goro,” Akira thanked him. Goro dried up his tears and helped him up to his room for some needed rest.

"You're welcome, Aki. Please, don't be afraid to come to my place if you want to get away from here. I always will have room for my precious boyfriend," he pulled him closer and felt all his troubles melt away when he kissed him. Ryuji's lips would never satisfy him like Goro's. 


	23. 10/12

****

10/12

****

**Early morning**

Ryuji felt like the worst boyfriend ever. Akira was so heartbroken by everything they'd done. So, when Ryuji got a text from Futaba that morning all that he had done in the past month had led to this moment.

> O: Akira is missing.

Those three words left a chill in Ryuji that morning.

**After school**

"We have to talk about Akira," Ryuji said as they all entered Leblanc. Futaba and Sojiro were waiting for them as he flipped the sign to close for the evening. "It's my fault," Ryuji started.

"No, it's all our faults. We didn't realize how fragile his state of mind was at the moment," Makoto's voice tinged with worry. 

"It made him get even worse. He just snapped..." Futaba said. "I kept him out of the loop, because he'd almost hurt me, and I didn't want you guys to have to think about that during the mission." She gestured to Haru.

"So, he was originally the leader of the team?" She asked. "What made him become like that?"

"I think I know what it is. That enemy that disappeared a long time ago. If I'm correct, then this has been a long time in the making. He's been slowly corrupted by that spell the enemy hit, since last July..." Makoto inquired.

"I thought I gave him a hiranya. That should've fixed him," Ryuji couldn't make heads or tails of it.

"He was still bleeding. It didn't fix him entirely. And when he went to Tae and she made sure he healed, and that trapped in the curse..."

"So it was able to spread through him entirely?" Yusuke inquired.

"Yes, we only fueled the possibility that it would change him... I can't believe this happened on our own watch..."

"so, what are we gonna do 'bout it now?" Ryuji asked.

"We are going to search for Akira, and Futaba. Try to search for that Kuro Majutsu person. If we can find both, we should be able to change him back before it becomes permanent," Makoto ordered.

"He left his phone behind, so we have to search for him the old fashioned way..." Futaba informed them.

They all nodded and they got straight to work.

**10/13**

**After School**

"I've been able to locate that Kuro person," Futaba said, showing them her computer. "Is that her?"

"Yes!" Makoto nodded. "That's her. Now, where would Akira be?" Makoto wondered aloud.

"I went over to check up on him a while ago, and that detective bitch was protecting him from me." He was still bitter about that.

"Goro Akechi? What was he doing with Akira?" Makoto asked, confused.

"Sounds like Akira broke up with you..." Ann was shocked.

"Yeah, he was bein' all buddy buddy, 'an shit with him. It disgusted me..."

"Don't worry, Ryuji. I'm sure that curse had something to do with his actions too. He wasn't thinking properly. We'll get him back," Ann assured him.

"Welp, guess who just found Goro Akechi's address?" Futaba singed as she held up a sticky note with his address in hand.

"Way to go, Futaba!" Ann praised her.

"Mwehehe, now lets get our Joker back!" 

**Evening**

"I'm sorry, but Akira isn't here." Goro shot them down, immediately as they arrived. "I haven't heard from him in the last few days."

"May we see inside then? Akira's disappeared," Makoto asked, putting one foot in the door.

"Certainly, right this way," he gestured them in the door. 

He was unfortunately correct. There was no sign of Akira anywhere. "If you hear anything from him, let us know." Makoto handed him her phone number.

"Of course, I'm interested in his safety as well. If I get a call from him I'll let you know," he promised.

They all went home, with no progress made.

**10/14**

"Where could Akira be now that we ruled out Goro Akechi?"

"I think we should think somewhere where it's dark. Akira had his house really dark when I came over last time."

"And Akira didn't know anyone else, outside of Akechi at the time. Not enough for him to stay at their house, so that rules out all of Tokyo complexes... he wouldn't want to be surrounded by people," Makoto mused.

"How about the caves?"

"The closest one I know is the Nippara caves near tokyo. However, if we go there tonight, we won't be able to enter it. It closed at 5, just as we finished school."

"Looks like, we're just gonna have to risk it. We'll head out in the morning." They all nodded. 

"I'm surprised, Mako-chan. that's not usually your thing to ditch school," Haru said.

"If I skip out, they'll probably think it was for a good reason. I usually have a perfect attendance record."

Tomorrow, they were heading for the caves.


	24. 10/15

**Early Morning**

"Thank you for agreeing to come with us on such short notice," Makoto said, boarding the train.

"I'm sorry for the trouble I caused you, I'm glad you reached out to me." Kuro smiled. "So that world really exists?"

"Yes, and your dables in magic actually work there. So much so, it's affected our friend in real life."

"I want to correct it, so please take me to that place, so I can reverse the spell. Please, let me change him back. It's the least I can do for you."

"That's what we are planning to do, but first; we have to find him."

\---

While they were rolling past all of Tokyo, breaking news broke out across all the screens. "Prime Minister, Masayoshi Shido, one of the Prime Ministers in running has died at age 52. We'll let you know more as the story develops."

It pulled up a picture of him, baldness and all. "Hey, that's the rude guy from the buffet!" Ryuji pointed at him.

They all pulled him back down into the seats, shushing him. 

"He deserved it," Ryuji said under hushed breath.

**Noon**

Taking a tour of the caves was quite an experience. Most of the cave was a tourist attraction with pretty lights showing off the cave walls. This would be something that Akira would take a liking to. They looked around, searching to a closed off area. When they did, they all went through and found Akira hunkered down with his wings covering him up, looking even more monsterous than before, with an almost permanent mask like Arsene’s stretching across half his face. It was like it'd become a permanent mask.. Akira growled at him, like an animal.

“Akira… I’m sorry…” Ryuji wanted to apologize more then he would ever know. He was sorry for everything.

“Let me take care of him,” Kuro stepped forward.

Ryuji grabbed Akira's hand as he pressed the metaverse navigation to go to mementos. He let go as Akira jerked his hand away, once they were at the entrance.

“párte píso tin katára mou, giatí eímai aftós pou ítan sklirós …” She began, she walked forward, with no fear in her face as she kissed his head, and watched as his body shifted back to normal, returning him to his old shujin uniform. Although, he would need a new one now that his form ruined it. “I’m sorry for causing this for you, I had distorted desires of my own. I was too stubborn to realize that I was never in the wrong, but since the Phantom Thieves came, I had to step forward and take responsibility. You made me learn to take account of my own actions." She turned towards them. "Having him like that for so long is bound to leave an everlasting effect. Let me help you in the healing process. It’s the least I can do.”

“We will take you up on that offer, but for right now, we need to get him home to a nice bed,” Makoto helped lift Akira up, his whole body wobbling as they headed on home.

Ryuji was glad that Akira was back to his old self. during that time, Ryuji didn’t realize how much of his life revolved around Akira, how he’d always grab his hand and feel the soft warmth his hands gave him. Ryuji hoped that they could go back to how things were, but as it was, he looked exhausted. Not saying a word to anyone as he was worn out.

Ryuji tried to sit by him, and hold his hand, but he pulled away. "Try again when he's feeling better. I'm sure he's just as eager to get back to things," Ann whispered.

Alright. That wasn't a problem. He'd be fine in the morning.


	25. 10/16

**Lunchtime**

Akira was back at school as well, with a little help from Futaba, he was able to continue like nothing happened the past few weeks, but he still was a little behind on homework. Makoto offered to help tutor him, like always at Leblanc after school. At lunch, Ann, Ryuji, Makoto, and Haru decided to catch up with him by meeting together at lunch on the rooftop.

“How’re you feelin’ Aki?” Ryuji asked.

“I’m feeling better, just kinda sluggish.” Akira tried to slide his hand into Ryuji’s but pulled back suddenly, shielding his hand. “Sorry, my hands are kinda sensitive more than usual.”

“That’s alright Aki, I’m just happy you’re back," he smiled at him. 

“I’m sorry for being angry at you guys for the past few weeks. I don't know what came over me,” he apologized. 

“We knew something was wrong, but at the time we didn’t know, but then Makoto fit all the pieces together. I should’ve realized it when you came back from the mission and something was off about you getting hurt that badly. But even then, we didn't have Futaba, and her great information seeking skills to get a hold of the lady for the longest time. She was incognito, and her place in Mementos never returned. Then the medicine Takemi-san gave you healed it up, and we thought that was the end of it,” Makoto explained.

“It’s alright. Right now, I just want to catch up with school. I’m really behind on things. At least Kawakami was kind enough to make sure I returned without a problem. She’s got our back.”

“Oh yeah, she’s like buddy, buddy with us. I woulda never imagined that at the beginnin’ of the school year.” Ryuji said. “‘Member she didn’t even want you to hang out with me? ‘Said I was a bad influence on ya.”

“People can change, remember operation maid-watch?” Akira had to remind him.

“O-oh,” Ryuji wiped his sweat nervously, as the girls all looked at Ryuji menacingly. “Preferences change too. I just didn’t understand my emotions then. I was really, just wantin’ to spend time with you, Aki, but Mishima had to overhear an’ tag along.”

“That’s alright. I wanna help you guys out, now that I’m back.”

“We already helped out Haru Okumura while you were gone, Morgana helped out with that. When the next Mementos mission pops up, we’ll be sure to bring you back.”

“We are gonna spend some time together, after school? We missed you, buddy,” Ryuji gave him a small peck on the cheek, making him flustered. 

As the lunch bell rung, they all headed back to their classes, with Ann and Akira tagging along together. A chestnut-haired boy stood, right by the door, waiting for them. “Good day, Akira-kun, may I have a moment of your time?” he asked, his eyes almost searching for a sunshine-haired boy.

“Uh, sure.” Akechi pulled him away for a moment and they headed out of campus and sat in his limo at the front of the school. “It’s alright. No one’s in the limo, I made them step away because I want this between just the two of us. I wanted to personally thank you for getting rid of Shido. Working for him, was detrimental to me as a person. I didn’t know how long I could remain as sane as I was," he thanked him.

“I helped you?” Akira scratched his head in confusion. "I don't remember doing this..." his breath almost a whisper.

“Yes, he was my father, but I never forgave him for causing my mother to commit suicide. All he cared about was his career, making me take care of the competition like one of his lackeys. I hated it, and you made him disappear from my problems. 

"I couldn't have done that... I'd never kill anyone in my life!"

"Oh, but you did... We planned it out _together_..." He pulled out a picture of him scratching at Shido's lifeless body. "I liked how we could be our true selves around each other, I loved seeing that dark side of you come out. It made me realize how much we are alike.

"But don't worry. Your secret is safe with me, and on this blemish on your Phantom Thievery business will be sealed away. You want your audience still thinking of you as heroes, do you not? And I certainly don't want to be seen as an enemy to the public, so we'll keep quiet about this." He smiled devilishly. "We share the same blood on our hands, Akira Kurusu."

" However, I would like to tag along with you, because we have a bond that can never be broken. It’s my promise to you, and that probation that was put upon you by him, I did some work, and now, you are free.” Akechi sat a paper certificate on his lap. “It’s been a mistake and taken off your record. Consider it another gift.”

“I-I don’t remember helping out at all…” he whispered to himself. Akira felt the skin crawl on his back, sickening shame crawl into his stomach. What had he done?!?! Why couldn't he remember doing that?

“Goodbye, Kira. I shouldn’t keep you any longer. Let’s talk again later at Leblanc, shall we?” Akechi gives him his same old demeanor like always as he carries Morgana back to class. The pit in his stomach was knotting up, and yet he felt no remorse for what he’d done. Akira knew that this wasn’t right, his emotions were screwing with him ever since he was changed back. He didn’t even feel like himself anymore, and to have a murder done by his own hands sickened him. He felt like he could throw up, he thought everything was going to go back the way it, was, but it's gotten worse.

More than that, he felt like he had betrayed his own boyfriend as well, falling in love with someone else within the last few days. He guessed Akechi was the one who initiated it, but looking back on it, his crush on his was obvious. He took to him like a moth to a light, often complimenting him every chance he could.

**After School**

“I’d like for you to see if I have a palace,” Akira said, once they all arrived at the Leblanc attic. “It pains me to say it, but I believe there are memories that have been buried inside my mind. Ones that prohibit me from having that strong will to fight. I’m terrified of hurting you guys, and I think that maybe if you see if I have any desires that might’ve been distorted since the curse, I want you to change my heart.”

“Are you sure?” Makoto asked.

“Yes, please. I don’t think I can summon my persona. I don’t have it in me to fight. More than that I’m scared to even start doing it again…” Akira clawed at his head, " _I don't want to hurt anyone ever again..._ ;" he croaked, curling up into the fetus position.

“Akira Kurusu.” Ryuji spoke into his phone.

“Hit.” The whole team gasped.

“Leblanc cafe.”

“Hit.”

“Prison.” Akira reluctantly finished for them. 

“Match found,” the phone chimed.

_"You do have a palace..."_ They all said in unison. 

“That means you can’t come in with us…” Ryuji looked at him. He didn't need to come in there. Not in that state of mind.

"Nope, it’s alright. I’ll stay here with Dad while you're gone. You guys go in. I'll be here," Akira tried to assure them.

“We’ll all help you come back to your old self. Don't worry, you'll be fine.”

Akira left the room to let them use the metaverse app, and they left to help their fellow leader.

“I think you should get some rest while they do the mission, keep a clear head for them,” Sojiro suggested.

“Yeah, I’ll try to take a nap…”

“Just as he headed out the door, he was greeted by a familiar face. “Hello, Akira. Were you heading out?”

“Yes, my head isn’t feeling well. I’ve got a bad migraine…” Akira lied.

“That’s too bad, I was just about to head in to give your Father some of the documents for his side of the deal as well, and get myself some of your delectable coffee.”

“Alright, then, I guess we could go inside and talk for a little bit. I can feel it slightly subsiding…”

“Oh good, I have so much to talk to you and Sojiro about. I think you’ll need to temporarily shut down the cafe though…” he gestured over to the door.

Akira opened the door and flipped the sign to close, as hesitantly sat down with Goro in Leblanc.


	26. Akira's Prison of Grief

# Akira's Prison of Grief 

# Layer 1: Acceptance 

It was like they were in the Twilight Zone, everything looked the same… The palace looked like Leblanc and felt like Leblanc in every single way from the smell, to how the homey cafe looked.

“H-How is Akiras’ desires distorted?! Are you sure we’re in the right place?” Futaba questioned, huddling closer to the team.

“The metaverse app did go off, right?” Makoto asked.

“Yeah, it should have… But with how everything looks the same, I don’t know if my eyes are deceiving me…”

“I’m so confused man…” Ryuji sighed. Akira didn’t see them as a threat yet. “The place is supposed to be a prison, but this is like the farthest thing from it.”

“Yeah, that has me wondering what’s different about the palace that’s making it react differently from others.”

“It’s supposed to be like a big place and have some distortion, right?” Haru asked.

“Yeah, but this doesn’t feel like a palace at all…” Ann replied.

"And why is it Leblanc? and not Sojiro Sakura's house?" Futaba wondered.

"I guess for the longest time, Leblanc was like a prison to him, that's where it kind of began..." Makoto guessed. “Futaba, do you sense any enemies?”

“No… But I do feel a presence upstairs… It doesn’t feel threatening though…”

“Let us investigate.” Yusuke started towards the stairs.

Akira was sitting down at his desk, working on homework, realizing someone was there, he waved at them, like always. “Hey guys. What’s up?”

“Uh… Hey Aki, how you doing?” Ryuji asked, nonchalantly.

“I’m doing good. Been waiting for you guys for quite a while. What was the holdup?”

“We were just wonderin' why the place looked nothin' like a palace.”

“This place doesn’t look like a palace because you haven’t even gotten to dig into the place yet. There’s floors of this palace that go deep down to the distorted part of my mind,” Akira answered simply.

“And why are you so calm about this?” Makoto inquired.

“Because I’ve accepted the fact that I need you guys to continue down there. I've accept the fact that I need to change. ”

“So, how many layers are there?”

“Seven. This palace is kind of a lite version of other you’ve visited before. It hasn’t had time to grow and distort as well as the others, but hopefully you can help me just fine.”

“We all want to help you Aki…” Ryuji moved towards him, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek. 

“I missed that so much…” Akira’s soft smile was the only thing Ryuji could see, it lit up his whole world and almost made him feel like everything was as wonderful as it could be. His soft fingers caressed Ryuji’s neck as he surprised him with a quick kiss before opening the door to the next layer of the palace. “There’s an Akira on every level. Talk to him and help him understand. We need him to be able to get to talk about his feelings after being silenced for so long, it’s something that needs to be done.”

“It’s about time! I tried to get him to talk for a while!” Futaba outburst.

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that too. Good luck to you guys,” and waved them off as he watched them all walk through.

# Layer 2: Reconstruction

# 

Leblanc was working through it’s own reconstruction with the place having new boards replaced, workers were hammering away at the place. 

The Phantom Thieves hurried upstairs to see Akira again, but looking a little more distressed staring at a paper on his desk. Akira sighed, hitting his head. “Ryuji, I need you to help me out with something.”

“I’m not that great with homework, but I can give it a shot,” He stepped forward.

“It’s not like that, I need you help me work through my fear of our relationship,” Akira asked, holding his hand.

“You shouldn’t be scared, Aki. I've got you. What are you afraid of?”

“I know, I… It’s just every time you get close to me I fear I’m going to hurt you or everyone else. I don’t want to be that person ever again. I hate the me that is angry, the one that shuts everyone out. I want you guys to help me calm my anger or find something to help let it out naturally.”

“I usually work out to help get out the steam,” Ryuji said.

“Judo help me calm down, and it’s great for self-defense.” Makoto added.

“I vent out my emotions in my paintings. It’s calming for me,” Yusuke said, immediately thinking of his next work.

“Tending to my garden makes me feel relaxed…” Haru smiled innocently.

“Even playing video games helps. Ryuji and I always take it out on other players,” She elbowed the vulgar boy playfully.

“Don’t be afraid to come to us, Akira. We are in this together as a team. We’ve got to look out for each other.” Makoto assured him.

“Thank you. I’ve just always felt like I needed to be strong for you guys. You made me your leader, and I wanted to be the glue that helps us work together cohesively.”

“Some of the greatest leaders had faults to them too. We know you’re going through a tough time-”

“Alright,” Akira interrupted, reaching his hand out to stop her. “That did help me feel better. Thanks to your suggestions I think I can handle it in a more healthy way thanks to you guys.”

“No problem, Joker," Morgana said, as Futaba walked him out.

Akira mustered a weak smile, opening up the next door for them. They headed to the next layer. Just as they disappeared Akira lost his calm demeanor and trembled to the floor. He couldn't talk about that. He couldn't bring himself to talk about them just yet.

# Layer 3: The Upward Turn

# 

Akira waited for them at the steps of his old bedroom. He ran towards Ryuji, grabbing his arms and twirled him around with exuberant speed. “You are the best thing to ever grace this earth, Ryuji Sakamoto.” He said, before giving him a long kiss.

“So you’re doin’ alright?” Ryuji asked.

“Yes! Yes I am!” Akira twirled around, and danced like no one was watching. “I’ve used your suggestions and it’s worked so far, I’ve been able to adjust to things pretty good. I think your suggestions helped me find a little bit of my own happiness too.”

“Glad to hear you’re feeling better dude!” Ryuji gave him a pat on the back.

Akira opened the portal for them. They looked at him weirdly for a second, but guessed it was fine to go ahead and went on to the next layer.

“You can’t always put on that brave face, Akira.” Sojiro scolded him once the Phantom Thieves had disappeared. “You should’ve told them what was wrong.”

“I-I know, I just wanted to make Ryuji feel better… Just seeing him so happy is what I want.”

“But talking to them truthfully with make you feel even better. You can’t always hide behind your Persona. Sometimes you have to reveal what you’re really thinking.” The cognitive Sojiro patted him on the back. “Now, you and I need to talk about it..”

# Layer 4: Depression, Reflection, Loneliness

# 

The sound of thunder rumbled throughout the sky with the sound of heavy rain beating down on Leblanc. The lights flickered, as if they were ready to be struck down by lightning. Sojiro sat at the counter, doing his crossword puzzles like always. They could already feel that this Akira was going to be different. All throughout the house there was this feeling of despair.

Akira covered himself up with his damp bed sheets. His eyes were red and puffy with him resembling his Arsene uniform in the early processes of changing again. “I don’t want to talk.” He said, covering his sensitive eyes.

“I think it would be best for you to talk about it now, we do want to help you overcome this, Akira.”

“Why would you still want to talk to me after all the things I did when I rude to you?” Akira cried. 

“We know it was the curse, Akira. That wasn’t you, that was the other part of yourself that you were forced to become.”

“I still feel bad, no matter how you say it. I don’t deserve your respect as your friend or a leader...” He dug himself further into the covers. “I feel so alone, but I don’t know how to overcome it. I don’t feel like how I used to be, so confident and assure of myself. I feel like a shell of my former self and I don’t know how to get back to who I used to be.”

“What you’re partially feeling is loneliness. I felt that way when my Mother passed away, and I felt like I was the only one in the world trying to look for answers, or trying to occupy myself with something to think about.” Futaba stepped forward and ripped off his bed sheets to see a familiar scared boy huddled into his own fetal position, avoiding their sympathetic looks. Only Futaba knew how those looks only made him feel worse.

The girl did the only thing that she knew would help him feel better is give him a hug. Akira sobbed into her shoulder, and patted his back.

She remembered back to when Sojiro gave her hugs when she was having those really bad days and his specialty curry helped everything seem a little bit better.

“And everything else, you’ll have to reflect back and see how you truly feel. Those feelings will come back, you just have to deal with the feelings that are plaguing you right now. Only then will you be able to take the next few steps to get better.”

Everyone else came in to give him a big hug as the sky seemed to clear and the sun started to shine in. Akira started to come back to his old self again. 

“T-Thank you guys,” feeling their heartwarming hugs gave him a light sense of relief, and some stress taken off his shoulders.

Another door opened up leading them to the next room.

# Layer 5: Anger and Bargaining

# 

Gone was Leblanc and it’s welcoming atmosphere. The place had begun to warp, looking more like a prison, and felt cold and desolate with Akira chained behind prison bars.

He snarled at them and lunged trying to get his sharp claws out at them. Akira’s animal-like reaction felt all too familiar. They were finally getting down to the dark recession of his mind.

“I don’t want you here,” he warned them. Swatting at them, but behind bars he couldn’t hurt them. 

“Watch your tone, inmate. They are here to help you with your rehabilitation, so liven up here.” A girl with a long braided ponytail appeared, holding a baton in her hand for warning.

"Who are these girls?" Ann asked looking at the blue uniform as another similar looking girl appeared.

"We are his rehabilitators, we were merely helping him until that curse had to stop our progress." The girl spoke softly. "My name is Caroline, and over there is Justine. Our master would be here to greet you, but even the curse has made it difficult for him to come and give guidance."

"Who is your master? It's not Akira?"

"No, he is not our master, but he is the master of this palace. Our master is Igor, and he was the one who was tasked with helping your friend rehabilitate the world."

"I see, well, if you don't mind, can we ask Akira some questions? It'll help him release some of that anger." Makoto asked politely.

"I don't want to talk." Akira turned away from them. Justine smacked her baton at him. 

"You do want to go back to your normal self, don't you inmate?! Straighten up and talk!"

“Fine, but they aren’t doing me any favors… What do you want anyways? Here to tell me I’ve lost my leader privileges for good? It’s not like I can work in your favor anymore. You said it yourself. I haven't been in the right mindset for a while.”

Makoto avoided his eyes, feeling guilt well up in her throat. “We weren’t here to tell you that at all, and we’re sorry we had to do that, but at the time we felt like you were having a tough time sorting out your feelings." Makoto Apologized. "However, talking it out will help you find out what's wrong. The other layers have seemed to feel better after talking.” 

“I was perfectly fine doing that on my own, and I know that some of the other layers are cowards. Some are afraid of admitting more than they let on. But you didn't pressure them further, did you?”

"No... We didn't..." Yusuke admitted. "And maybe we should have."

“But here's the thing, Akira.” Makoto said. “You’re lashing out your anger at us, because we're the thing you somewhat are angry at. We will accept that, because we know we've done the wrong things. We all accept that, but now you need to settle down and talk it out with us, and tell us what we can do to help make you feel better, and we want you to give us everything that the other layers couldn't tell us personally yet.”

“Alright,” Akira growled, sitting down on his prison bed. “I’m not really angry at you, I’ve accepted that, but now I’m more angry at myself than anything.”

“Why would you be angry at yourself, dude? Everythin’s back to normal,” Ryuji said, oblivious.

“It’s not! It never will be,” he turned his head away from them. “I'm angry at myself because I’ve done something I can never forgive myself for. I've killed someone. No matter what, the blood on my hands will never wash away. Your best friend is nothing but a killer, who helped get rid of the prime minister. Masayoshi Shido.”

“That can’t be you, Akira. You’d never do something like that-” Futaba was silenced. Then she remembered back to that moment when he started acting coldly. 

"See? She knew I was capable of it. Look at the fear in her face. I couldn't control myself back then. I let the curse get the better of me, and affect my emotions and thoughts entirely."

"What was that curse supposed to do? We never learned what curse was casted upon you."

"It was a curse that took advantage of one of my personas, Arsene. It used him as a way to start bringing out that personality of me. When it conquered that, then it could let forth the more chaotic nature of my persona, the hunger for freedom and mischievous deeds. It in a way forced me to become a monstrous persona of myself, and I hated that I couldn't see it for so long. I was stupid! Absolutely stupid!"

"If you understand that, then you should know it wasn't your fault. That curse clouded your judgement and made you do things you know you wouldn't do! Including killing Masayoshi Shido."

“That bastard deserved it! He was the one who cut in line when we were at that restaurant, ‘member?” Ryuji pumped his fist, still angry at the man. He could never get over small little things like that.

“He was also the one who gave me a criminal record in the first place,” Akira sighed. “When I ran away, I couldn’t think straight and jumped at the chance to take him down. It was Goro Akechi who wanted it done. He knows about the metaverse and was the one responsible for the mental shutdowns.”

“He’s the Black masked guy you guys were talking about a while back?” Haru asked, looking pale. “He’s responsible for my father's death… I-I need a moment…”

“I’m mad I did these things while I wasn’t in control of myself. More than that, I’m angry at the fact I gave him a swift death, when he should’ve stayed alive to pay for his crimes. I was like Ann, back at Kamoshida's palace. I almost wanted him to stay alive so he could pay for his crime, but killed him, because there was something inside me that wanted him dead. And Goro Akechi was the one who helped affirm those feelings even further.

“I'm also angry at Akechi for ruining my shot of ever being normal again. He took away my chance of ending my probation normally. Now I feel I haven’t really earned it. My probation ended because I got rid of the big thorn in another influencers side. 

“Akira shoved this all down into the recesses of his mind, so he could forget that he’d done something he’d never be proud of. Hopefully, you can change that. 

“I'll admit that even Akechi was led astray, he’s done things he’s not proud of either, because he craved someone to love after his mother died and his father never gave him anything. He wanted acceptance. I'm not saying you have to forgive him. But maybe If he had friends, or someone to help guide towards a better direction, maybe he could become a better person and put the past behind him. Help him see what's wrong from right.”

“We can most certainly try,” Yusuke said, giving a meager smile.

“I believe he deserves a second chance,” Haru finally spoke again. "But if he does anything stupid I will personally take my axe and shove it-" Ann covered Haru's mouth.

"We'll try..." Ann said reluctantly. "Is there anything else you're not telling us?"

“No, but I do feel better. Thank you,” Akira smiled, feeling a sense of peace as they all headed to the next floor.

“You’re behaving better inmate, let’s hope the other floors will be just as cooperative,” Caroline raised her head mightily as always.

“Your rehabilitation needs to continue. You still have not completed your journey.” Justine agreed with her sister, and began checking things off on her clipboard.

“That’s why I have good friends like that to help me.”

“Don’t be a know-it-all, you’re still a prisoner here, inmate!” Caroline flailed her baton at the cage haughtily, with a mild sadistic smirk.

“Understood…” Akira huffed under his breath. This has been a long day...

# Layer 6: Pain and Guilt

# 

Akira seemed even more distant when they arrived at the prison again, almost as if he’s put up a wall between his friendship. They all look at him in his twisted form, with the only human part of him remaining was the right side of his face. 

The air felt the same just like it did when they found him that day. You could feel he was sorry for something, maybe this time he’d explain what was going on in his mind.

“Akira. Are you feeling alright?” Yusuke asked.

“No.” His voice was hoarse, and deeper than usual. It had an almost warped quality to it. He pointed to his throat with his sharp claws, “Hurts…”

It pained Ryuji to seem him like this, this must’ve been how we was before they met up with him. He wished he could hold him, take away his pain. It reminded him of how much in pain he was when he broke his leg. 

Akira did have a beautiful voice, smooth, like butter. He would pay to just hear him talk all day. To take that away from him tortured his soul.

“Sorry…” was all the boy could say, a sniffle coming from him. “I cheated on you…”

“What?” Ryuji shifted forward.

“Goro… I’m sorry… Akira stupid…” It pained him to admit he cheated on the person he had his eyes set on. But more importantly, he wanted to apologize to his team for hurting their feelings as well.

“It’s alright…” Ryuji said. “I know that wasn’t you. The past was in the past. I know you meant no harm. We’ve all done stupid things when we were angry.”

“Thank you…” Ryuji slid his hands through the bars, and Akira took it gently. 

Despite his appearance, there was still a little bit of his old self still in there. They were almost there, he could feel it. The door opened as always. Leading them to the next layer.

# Layer 7: Shock and Denial

# 

The place looked more like a desolate prison now more than ever, only with no guards around and empty cells. The place they were at was unfamiliar, not as confined as before. Yet, they all stayed together, looking around for Akira. The place seemed like a maze, with open cells, as if it was waiting just for one of them to go inside. 

They all edged slightly away and followed the cells where it led them to a closed prison cell, dimly lit in the already dark recesses of Akira’s mind.

“I see you’ve finally made it here…” Akira peered through the darkness in his complete form. “Seems like you’ve made it this far, but now, you need to piece together the final question. If it is correct, you will know, and if not, I will help steer you in the right direction. I want his mind to be at peace, just like all of you.”

“Thank you, Akira.”

“It’s Arsaekira, for the moment. I’ll give you a hint. There is a running theme with the rooms. Can you tell what it is?”

“There was?” The group chatted amongst themselves.

“One of them was gloomy, almost as if he was depressed.” Arsaekira bit his tongue, and turned away for a moment. 

“One was where he felt pain and guilt... “ Ryuji mused.

“Those are some of the steps of grieving… I knew it too well when I was young…” Yusuke answered.

“Maybe the grief of his parents?” Futaba asked.

“That’s the thing, I feel like he never got the chance too, even when he was confined to Leblanc,” Makoto suspected. “He focused on other things, worrying about others.”

“The thing is, I didn’t tell you guys, but Akira was kinda happy his parents passed,” Ryuji admitted. “He loved gettin’ the chance to be with us, and Tokyo feels more like home to him than his home back in Inaba.”

“Aw… That’s so sweet…” Haru smiled. “But still, those feelings aren’t grieving at all.”

“So, why isn’t he grieving?” Ryuji asked the red suited monster.

“He isn’t grieving because he was responsible for his parents death,” Arsaekira answered.

“No... he couldn’t...” Futaba denied it.

“But it’s true. He didn’t even know his power back then. For as far as he knew, he thought it was a dream, a terrible nightmare he hid deep down inside. When he heard of the news the dream had faded from his memory and he blindly accepted that he was staying here, never even realizing he would soil his hands again months later... 

“It took advantage of his dreams of freedom and made him feel imprisoned more as the curse took hold.” Arsaekira explained. “It unfortunately made it a problem for him to see truth from fiction.”

“But because of all of this, he’s been using his curse as an excuse to not deal with his emotions properly…” Makoto pained to say those words as she came to this conclusion. “That also added to his distorted desires even more…”

“I am afraid she is correct,” Arsaekira solemnly nodded. “That was what he wanted you to find out.” The bars broke open and he handed them a simple picture. One that showed everyone he loved. But with red cross marks going through them, all except Ryuji.

“It all started with me...” Ryuji realized. “He saved me from getting killed during that battle-“

“There was one thing Akira was afraid of losing, and that was you, Ryuji. Not only that, but everyone he loved. He feared he was losing everyone. It preyed on his worst fears and slowly ate at who he was as a person, till he couldn’t tell who he was anymore. 

“Akira had simple wants and needs. He wished for a reality where they were all free. His wish for freedom was also another leading cause of his distorted desires. It was one of his selfish desires: to be a kid and live his life before he was put on probation.

“Now that you know, please don’t let him harbor his fears. Make him talk with you, let him cry, let him _feel_ again.”

Suddenly, the prison started to shake violently.

“We will,” they all promised. 

The bricks started falling off the walls, as they ran outside of the maze of prison cells and found the portal as the palace came tumbling all around them. Ryuji waved to Arsaekira one last time before he disappeared with that warm familiar smile Akira used to to have.

They all hoped that this would finally help Akira come back to his old self again.


	27. Epilogue

They heard a crash from the rooftops of Leblanc followed by simultaneous large groans. 

“Everyone alright?” Haru asked.

“Yeah, but Inari, please get up. You’re suffocating me...” Futaba tried to push herself up.

“My apologies,” Yusuke got up and brushed himself off.

“You have the treasure, Ryuji?” Ann asked.

“Yup, right here!” He held it up proudly.

Akira, Sojiro, and Goro were still having a conversation as the sun had begun to set. He turned around, noticing all his confidants crowding downstairs. 

“Welcome back,” Sojiro greeted them. “It’s been a long day...”

“Your friends went to the Metaverse without you?” Akechi asked, tilting his head with meager curiosity.

“Yeah, they were just-“ Akira was interrupted by Ryuji giving him a smile. Seeing that shit-eating grin of Akechi’s erked him to no end.

Without even thinking, Ryuji went up to Akechi and slapped him hard, knocking him off his stool and onto the cold hard floor. “That’s for kissin’ my boyfriend when he was confused about everythin’.” Ryuji spat at Akechi. He took Akira by the shoulders and kissed him without any remorse, giving him all his love.

“I’ll admit I deserved that…” Akechi’s fake smile turned so a slight frown as he rubbed his blistering cheek.

“And I’m sorry, Akechi, but I can’t be in a relationship with you, I already have someone.” Another slap thrown at his metaphorical face, and from Akira, of all people.

“That’s Alright... I knew it was too good to last.” Akechi avoided Akira’s face. He didn’t want to see his pitying looks.

“Despite that, we still want you on our team, Akechi.” Makoto reluctantly helped him to his feet.

“You do?” He asked, somewhat surprised by their quick agreement.

“Yes, as long as you stop the mental shutdowns, and actually do some good with us, we are in this as a team.” Ann held her ground.

“I only did that on Shido’s orders. Since he is gone, I have no reason to do those anymore.” Akechi seemed fine with the matter at hand.

“We’ll see…” Makoto still had her suspicions and guard on high alert. For now, all she could do was deal with him like another team member. Keep your enemies close. “Still, we’re glad to have another member.”

Haru walked up to Akechi and gave him another smack on the other side. “That’s for my father,” she looked satisfied. 

“Again, I’m sorry,” he apologized.

“Sorry doesn’t bring him back, but you do owe me big time for the damage you’ve caused to my family. I’ll take it in a large sum, thank you very much.” Akechi sighed, pulling out his checkbook. Throw a brick at him, why don’t you? “How much?”

“Three hundred million yen.”

“Alright. Here you are,” he gave her the check. This was nothing. Akechi bit his lip.

Akira never wanted to pull away from Ryuji, but Sojiro was still there, mildly thinking they should get a room as he had to slowly pull them away from each other. “Sorry, sir,” Ryuji apologized.

Ryuji decided it was time, and handed him Akira’s treasure: a picture frame with his mother and father. Immediately, the raven haired boy, burst into tears.

“Akira. Are you alright?” Sojiro asked.

“He will be. He needs to get this out.” Ryuji let him sob into his t-shirt and the whispered into his ear, “Stop hidin’ yourself behind the walls that keep you free from harm. Stop denyin’ those feelin’s you’ve kept held back, imprisoned by your emotions. Don’t be afraid to show weakness. Because we all have that too. We’re here for you.”

Akira sobbed harder as he came to a realization of what he had done and all the memories that were refusing to resurface burst through his mind. Ryuji comforted him, as he handed him a box of tissues and patted him on the back. “It’s okay, we’ll help you through it,” Akira nuzzled further into Ryuji and his friends.

“You know your mistakes, but now you can change them.” Makoto put a hand on his shoulder as they all came in to give him one big hug.

Once he dried up his tears, he felt like himself again. All those emotions he kept to himself were finally released. “Thank you guys.” He felt relaxed again, giving them one of his cheeky grins. “So what was my palace like?”

“You were afraid of losing people, whether it be to absence or death.” Makoto informed him.

“When we were fighting that Kuro person a while back, I didn’t tell you, but I was always afraid of losing you, Ryuji. That’s why I took that blow, because I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I couldn’t be the one to protect my own boyfriend.” Akira geared up a bit, but tried to hold it back.

“Things like that happen, we all lose people, but your fear doesn’t apply in mementos. We can revive Ryuji, luckily.” Makoto explained. “It’s hard, I know, but we can’t escape death outside in the real world, either.”

“Also there was Grief. You, but going through the curse again. Twin loli girls in blue. That kinda stuff.” Futaba summed it up. “You want to tell us something about that? They kept saying they were trying to rehabilitate you...” She looked at him with a smug grin.

“It’s not what you think at all.” Akira set it straight. “Those two are who help me gain new personas. I visit this place called the velvet room, but it looks like a prison. It’s where I go when I stare off into space at the entrance of palaces sometimes.”

“Oh, that makes more sense now.” They all nodded.

“But please, as our leader and friend, be open with your thoughts. We’re your family too, and we’ll always be willing to talk if you don’t feel good, or are dealing with life in general.”

“I will. No more secrets, just open honesty.” Akira felt better saying those words. “Can I have some last minute curry, at least? I’m really hungry now.” They all smiled at him.

“Sure, “Sojiro said. “I’ll make us all some.” 

“That includes you too as well, Akechi. We’re not leaving you out of the deal either...” Akira looked at him, noticing he was sitting alone in the corner, sulking somewhat. He gestured him over as he sat by Akira with Ryuji semi-glaring at him, as they ate one good meal together as a family again.

**Evening**

Akira was exhausted when he finally went to bed. There were so many things to think about now. How to deal with Shido not stopping their plans. 

Now that Akechi has brought up their ratings, he thought he’d check back on the site, after avoiding it for so long. The ratings. They were off the charts with people supporting them one hundred percent. The more he scrolled down, there was nothing but more and more people blindly agreeing with them, and more people wondering who the next target was.

It put a chill in his spine. Akechi had been making them look innocent with all that’s happened for so long, they never even suspected that the words Akechi said were false. 

Something was seriously wrong here. Akira could now see Akechi for who he truly was: a force to be reckoned with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> During the making of this story, two of my family members passed away. My Nanny (Grandma), and my uncle passed away suddenly. It left me in a funk for a long time, but I realized unconsciously while making the story there was a theme of loss that kept playing through. Akira’s parents, Akira almost losing Ryuji, Akira losing his friends guidance and help due to him thinking toxicly, and the loss of Akira’s morality and innocence. This was mostly a way to help me unknowingly deal with the process. It made me see I had a fear of losing people, because 2018 was such a depressing year for not just me, but everyone I knew. So, that’s why the hook at the beginning was added.
> 
> You guys should be happy to know I am going to be adding another chapter of APTTSEH eventually. I have the next chapter 3/4ths of the way finished. I just had to put it off, because I was doing the Persona Big Bang. This was an experience. I got two wonderful people to draw art for my fic, and met tons of other people who have this wonderfully infectious enthusiasm for writing.
> 
> Thanks for reading, Phans!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Saving You](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19113832) by [Kiseki_Kurusu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiseki_Kurusu/pseuds/Kiseki_Kurusu)




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